During the Crisis
by Kibasgirltsumi
Summary: Sequel to my story, Before the Crisis. Hail discarded her old name and her old life. But she meets a certain blonde in 7th Heaven bar, and plans to save him this time.
1. Jayn Darvey

It was a busy day at the Golden Saucer. There was a big chocobo race today, and dozens of upper-class citizens had taken the cable car up to the amusement park. As the sun began setting, fireworks were loosed every half hour to keep them entertained before the main event.

So, no one noticed her. She didn't even seem out of place. She wore black leather pants, and a blue silk poncho that covered her entire body above her thighs. She leaned against the cable car building on one shoulder, scrolling through the contacts on her phone. The crowds passed by her without a single glance. She wasn't glance-worthy. Brown hair, medium height, not particularly well-endowed…maybe the scars. They were noticeable, but you had to actually look at her to notice.

She cracked a smile, as her phone rang, and lifted it to her ear.

"Hey, sweetie. About time you called. I thought you had chickened out…Yeah, it was a pun…Okay, meet you there." She closed the flip-phone, and joined the crowds bound for the golden buildings.

She stepped out with a group of excited young girls wearing over-done race hats with colorful chocobo feathers and flowers. She followed them halfway to the indoor racetrack, then separated as swiftly as she'd blended in. She entered the very empty theater, and took a seat in the back. They had discontinued their usual play, and replaced it with a more popular selection. The only one that the brown-haired woman knew. She sighed and leaned against the back wall, and laced her fingers behind her head, and silently mouthed the words along with the actors.

It wasn't long before her phone rang again, but there were so few people in the auditorium, that she didn't even have to leave.

"Oh there you are, pumpkin…Well, do you like sweetie better?" She laughed and twirled a loose bang between her fingers. "Fine, I'll leave the nicknames to your real sweetheart. Ready to go?" She laughed again, and hung up. Then, she stood up and clapped as the play ended. The actors seemed surprised at the sound, and bowed politely.

"Great show, boys! But you better clear out." She placed a ticking bomb at her seat, and casually exited the back door. She took a sharp left, and a wall of flames expelled from the curtains leading to the theater. The security raced for the burning theater, and the woman slipped away in the panicked crowds like a ghost.

She reentered through the back doors of the chocobo stables, and raced along the stalls. She looked back and forth at each of the startled birds, intent on finding a single one. She skidded to a halt, and threw herself against the doors. The label read 'Blue Chococbo. 5500 gil'. And the stall was empty.

"They put you up for sale, hmm? Guess that's what happens when you don't pay for rent." She backed away, and hurried for the race track. The race seemed immune to the chaos. Those who had put in their savings for a chance to win big at the day's race did not want to simply get up and walk away with empty pockets. Spectators were in a commotion, but desperate to see the outcome of the race.

The woman cussed under her breath. She'd hoped that a fire bomb would have caused a little more disturbance. At least the guards were busy.

The chocobos were rounding the corner, 'wark'ing and 'kweh'ing. They weren't as stupid as their riders. The woman ran to the edge of the stands, receiving many loud protests on how she was blocking the view. She pulled herself onto the edge of the fence, balancing precariously for a moment, before launching herself at the rider and chocobo in first place. She threw the rider off, promptly taking his place in the saddle. The blue chocobo screeched, and skidded to a halt.

"Calm down, boy!" She yelled. "It's me! It's me!" The bird stomped its feet, feathers rising back and forth in apprehension. Finally, it swung its neck over its shoulder so it could see her. The feathers on its crest rose high.

"Kweh…?" It chirped.

"Yeah- wark!" She replied, smiling. Chocobos had the best memories. The bird flapped its wings and reared up happily, almost tossing the woman off. "Haha, okay, okay! Calm down. Now, let's get you out of here." She pulled the reins, leading the bird towards the exit. Coffee cups and popcorn bags were being thrown at her, but she just stuck her tongue out at them and urged her chocobo into a run. She was an expert at winning those bets. The guards weren't prepared for a speeding chocobo, and the bird and rider easily leapt over them and continued through the parting crowds for the exit.

The blue chocobo hesitated at the pipe leading for the exit, as it had never taken such route of travel before. But it was loyal to its rider, even though she had been missing for months now, and finally dove into the tunnel at her command. They were thrown out in the main plaza, with a group of guards awaiting them. But these guards were different than simple bouncers.

They wore distinct violet uniforms, and glared at her with glowing blue eyes. The woman tossed herself off the side of the bird before they could remove her forcefully. Once she had their attention, she expelled her poncho outwards by lifting her arms, and revealed a pair of sturdy swords on her belt. She smirked at their expressions of initial shock, then realization. But they had realized too late.

She unsheathed her blades, and ran at them. She hit the first one with the bottom of her hilt, crushing his nose and sending him straight to the ground. She spun, and flipped her sword into a backwards grip, stabbing the SOLDIER behind her in the thigh.

As she tugged that blade free, she lifted her leg and kicked the approaching man in the stomach. He stumbled back, gasping to recover his suddenly lost breath, and by then, she had reached him again.

He finally lifted his own sword, parrying her lenient strike to his leg that was meant to disable him instead of kill him. But she still had a free sword, and it was taking both of his hands to keep her first attack at bay. She ducked low, allowing his blade to whistle overhead, then lept forward and kneed the man in his already sore chest, snapping ribs and his sternum. Finally, he fell over. He coughed out a mouthful of blood. He would live though.

"Traitor." He coughed. The woman sheathed her swords.

"Whatever." She said. "Define me however you like. Good luck trying to catch me though." She slung her legs back over the bird, and led him towards the cable car. There was a startled cry, and another chocobo was expelled from the pipes, leaving a trail of pink feathers. The woman groaned aloud.

"Please, don't tell me you really picked that one?" A black-haired man led the pink chocobo over to her, and the bird hissed, and snapped its beat in her direction. "Ugh."

"What? It's the only one big enough for two."

"Hear that, pinky? You're fat." The woman couldn't jump away fast enough for the bird to rip out a lock of hair. The two began walking briskly towards the cable car. They had gotten through the first half of their plan, but now had to perfect the getaway.

"Nice distraction, by the way, though I still had to knock someone out on my way here." The man said. The woman shrugged.

"Would you rather have stormed the place all alone?"

"It was your idea in the first place." He reminded her, his almond eyes glistening playfully. Then they narrowed and became serious. "Okay, you have to stop with the nicknames." The woman rolled her eyes.

"Yasashi getting jealous? Fine, I'll stop…Kaito-chan." The Wutanise man groaned.

The chocobos were reluctant to enter the cable cars. Almost as reluctant as the woman operating it was. But when the two riders produced swords, she seemed more than eager to send them along.

The doors sealed shut, and the gondola began its descent. The brown-haired woman crossed her arms and closed her eyes.

"I hate doing that- threatening someone like her with a sword. To them, it's scary as hell, but to another swordsman, it's a stupid little taunt." She smiled at him. Kaito. The ninja from Wutai who had both loved and hated her. Died twice or more(she had lost count), but always found his way back. It had still shocked her when he appeared again, but it wasn't a bad thing. They had been enemies before, but that was a loose definition. Comrades in arms was a better term now. It helped when they had the same enemy. "Still as rebellious as ever." She added. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"You're one to talk, Hai-" A sharp look caused him to bite down the rest of the name. "Sorry, I forget you don't go by that anymore…little miss ex-SOLDIER." She smiled up at the ceiling.

"That has a better ring to it, doesn't it?" Kaito shrugged, massaging the thick scar on his shoulder.

"I guess…Wait, for real, what am I supposed to call you?" She fixed her glowing turquoise eyes straight ahead, half closed in thought.

"I don't care. It changes every time someone asks." Kaito nodded, unsatisfied.

"Anyways…You know, this is going to be our last adventure together."

"But they're so much fun." She protested with an exaggerated whine.

"You're right- Yasashi's getting jealous. It took me long enough to get her to like me, I don't want to lose her." The brown-haired woman stepped forward, made a fist above the man's heart, and knocked on his chest. Her knuckles made contact with metal, and produced a soft ring. He moved her hand away with a smile.

"Yeah, well, she can still take it back, you know?" Suddenly, the gondola gave a violent lurch, and began rapidly accelerating down the wire. "They cut us off!" Kaito yelled in surprise.

They had to act quickly. It would only be a matter of seconds before they crashed, and consequently exploded outside of the city of Corel. For Kaito, time slowed down. But for the woman, time seemed to stop. She snapped a glowing yellow orb into one of her swords, and stabbed the glowing blade through the roof of the gondola. A lightning bolt erupted from her arm, snaking into the wires of the machine. She kicked the emergency brake in, and they reactivated. An awful screeching came from the wire, and sparks threatening to light the entire machine on fire.

The gondola gently stopped beside the platform, and the doors opened with a calm 'ding!'.

Kaito was clutching the wall, with spread arms.

"Wha…What just…?" The woman pulled her sword from the ceiling and dropped onto a knee, catching her breath. "Hey, you okay?" She nodded, and swallowed.

"Overdid it a little. Whoo, that startled me." Kaito helped her to her feet, then onto her chocobo. From there, they exited, as calmly as ever, and the awaiting passengers moved to the sides to let them pass. Dissent murmurs followed the two, until they kicked their steeds into a run, away from the continuous fireworks.

They hurried through Corel and into the badlands, kicking up clouds of dust as the ground became loose and dead underfoot. They took turns glancing behind each other, to make sure that no one was following them. As the sun set, the path behind them was as open as the path before them.

They slowed their exhausted steeds down, but urged them to continue going until they reached Kalm. It was a long trip, but they were sturdy animals, and the ex-SOLDIER and Kaito wanted to sleep with a roof under their heads.

The sky was never pitch black unless you were in Midgar. As they walked to Kalm, the sky was both violet and navy, dusted with massive constellations and skipping stars. The town itself was lit up as if it were mimicking the sky above. They unsaddles their chocobos and let them free in the stables, and finally returned to the inn. The innkeeper had even gone off to bed, so Kaito used his key and entered the back door and into their joint-room.

A woman jumped to her feet, glaring at them. The brown-haired woman sighed.

"I'd hoped you'd gone off to bed." She said, but the wutanise woman continued to stare at Kaito. "I'll leave you two to be." She went through the back door and into her own, half-sized room. The walls didn't block out the sounds of a lover's quarrel next door, but eventually it quieted.

Her door opened and Kaito entered.

"We're leaving first thing in the morning." He said. She nodded.

"She can't stand me."

"She thinks it's weird how you're so friendly to me." He admitted with a shrug.

"Of course it's weird." She agreed. "Your girlfriend's the only one with a shred of common sense." He nodded. "Where will you guys go?"

"She likes it here…but we may check out Gongaga." She smiled.

"Lots of monsters, but the people are kind."

"So, what about you Hail-" He sighed. "Please tell me what to call you." She frowned at the floor.

"Fine. How about Jayn."

"Jayn?"

"Yeah…It'll be my alias." Kaito shrugged.

"Then…bye, Jayn." He left and her eyes followed him. Then she pulled out a worn, waterstained piece of paper from inside her shirt. She unfolded it, and read the familiar, yet very distant name on the paper.

It had been years…

"Bye."

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN~Hello again**_

_**It's been a long wait, and after about 20 tried on chapter 1, I settled with this. If you haven't already, I suggest you read Before the Crisis, or at least the final "prologue" chapter.  
><strong>_

_**In about 3 chapters, I'm hitting the main ff7 storyline. Like Before the Crisis, it'll follow a parallel storyline, connecting with the main party on often occasions.**_

_**I hope you like it, and tell me what you want to read in future chapters.**_


	2. Chanton

Kaito and Yasasshi left before the sun rose. They wanted to beat the snow clouds that were drifting in. Jayn's window was left halfway open, and the cold air was filling her room. She was too tired to move, except to bundle herself deeper under her blankets.

She wanted to sleep through the day. She liked to sleep in now that she wasn't forced to wake up every time she got a text. No one texted her anymore.

And she was woken by a distant cracking sound. Many would have mistaken it for a tree falling under the weight of snow, but she had heard that sound so many times before that she knew better.

People owned guns. Everyone with a shred of sense did. So why did it make her so nervous?

She forgot about the cold and rushed out of bed and downstairs. The innkeeper was hesitating in the lobby.

"Oh, dear- don't go out! That gunshot was close." Jayn shoved her way past and opened the door. No one else was outside. It was too cold and too early. She woke up her blue chocobo, and rode him bareback into the outskirts of the town. The sound had come from the East.

Only a few strides into the storm, her chocobo reared up and screeched in protest to continue on. Jayn jumped off, and only ran a few steps before seeing it as well. A small figure was strewn over the ground, and a man stood above him, leisurely reloading his pistol.

He flicked it shut and took aim at the figure's head. Jayn flew across the snow, punching the gun out of the man's hand as it went off, then threw her elbow into his skull. Cracks spread all over his face, and he stumbled away, gripping his head and screaming from behind his hands. Jayn kicked the gun into her hands and emptied its remaining bullets into the man that had loaded them.

Then, holding her breath, she looked to the red-splattered figure buried halfway by snow. She released a pained exhale at the sight. It was a little boy, no more than ten years old, and he'd been shot in the right shoulder. Because of the boy's small size, the simple gunshot had nearly severed his arm. Why so young?

She knelt down beside him, and brushed back his dust-colored bangs to see his face.

And the boy gasped. Jayn fell over as the boy started screaming. He was alive! She took off her shirt, despite the cold, and tied it around his shoulder, then lifted him into her arms and ran back to her chocobo.

* * *

><p>At least Kalm had a doctor. Many towns lacked one, and improvised with herbs and chanting. This one at least had bottled medicine. Jayn hated that it was manufactured by ShinRa, but she still had to admit that the company had produced some useful things. She fingered the thick scar above her eye, though she felt nothing. It had numbed a long time ago. But at least the medicine had preserved her eyesight and memory.<p>

She waited outside, until the doctor left the operating room, his apron bloodied like he'd been slaughtering an animal instead of preforming delicate surgery.

"He will live." He said, wiping his hands off on a clean patch of fabric. "Even his arm did not need to be amputated. He was lucky." Jayn leaned back against the wall, nodded, then pushed away and started walking down the hall.

"And what is your relation to the boy?" The doctor asked her, before she reached the stairs. She shrugged.

"There isn't one. I just found him." He sighed.

"I was worried about that."

"Why?" She asked, finally facing him.

"Well, he won't talk to me about his parents, or relatives even. I believe he is an orphan. And orphans die." Jayn hated the doctor's bluntness.

She went to see the boy a few hours later. It took her that long to gather her wits.

He was lying flat in bed, staring away from the food that had been placed there. He still looked pale, but he would have been in better shape if he ate something. He tensed when she closed the door behind herself and sat in the chair at his bedside. Jayn didn't know what to say, and she hadn't eaten for two days, so she took the slice of toast off of his tray and started nibbling on it.

He looked more nervous now. She followed his green eyes to the pair of swords on her hips. She hadn't gone out with them after she heard the gunshot, so she quickly put them back on incase she had to act impulsively again.

"Oh, you're worried about these?" She asked. "Don't be, they're mostly for show now. Monsters have been keeping away from me recently...How are you?"

"Fine." He snapped impulsively. She nodded, not bothered by his unpleasant tone.

"The doctor says you can keep your arm, you know? You got lucky." His face went very pale, and he gasped and looked at the mess of gauze around his shoulder. He tried opening and closing his hand, but only got the fingers to twitch. He started hyperventilating.

"My arm won't…It won't…"

"Calm down." Jayn quickly said. "A lot of nerves were cut and you'll have to regrow them." He continued to stare wordlessly, touching his arm. She quickly grew sick of the sight._ Ill_ was a better word for how she suddenly felt. She stood up, scraping the stool along the floor before quickly leaving. "Jeez…I, uh…I'll be back." She stammered, before closing the door at almost a slam.

What was she doing?

The doctor seemed to be waiting for her outside.

"So?" She shook her head.

"I can't. I've got too much to do, so, taking care of a little kid?" She shook her head with renewed vigor, shaking dark brown bangs back and forth. "No."

The man shrugged.

"Then he will be released when he can walk, and have nowhere to go."

"Why don't you take him then?" She snapped. "Why does the responsibility fall to me?"

"It has to fall to somebody. And between us, you're the woman."

"Oh, so that makes me better suited?" She snapped, crossing her arms as if to conceal the vague indications of her gender. "Come on, old man. Look at my eyes. You expect me to be the better suited one?" Instead of staring, he closed his eyes.

"You're the only one who went to his aid. Though the whole village could hear him scream. I became a doctor for the money, not for the feeling."

With that, he walked away, leaving her with the final say. She faced the wall, then banged her head against it.

She abruptly opened the door again, and walked back over to the boy. He was sitting up now, and wiped his eyes with the edge of the sheet as she approached him.

"Okay, look…You don't have anyone I can call?" He shook his head. "What's your name?" He hesitated. "I'm Jayn." She added, hoping to coax him into some form of speech. The boy took a quick intake.

"I'm…My name's…" He swallowed, making a decision. "Chanton." He managed to say.

"Okay, Chanton. I…" Jayn felt her own breath hitching. She sighed and steadied herself. "I'm busy. I have a lot of things to take care of. And I think the doctor just added you onto that list." He frowned at her. "If you have nowhere else to go, you can come with me until you're capable to take care of yourself." Jayn had summed up her little deal as best as she could, and it didn't sound like a bad one. But the boy stared and stared. "I…I'm not mean." She added, instantly regretting her weak words.

He finally blinked.

"I don't know." He said, then quickly shook his head. His eyes were heavy with tears.

"I'll let you think it over."

"No!" He yelped, snatching Jayn's hand. Tears fell heavily out of his eyes. He was obviously desperate. "No…I don't need to think about it. I'll go with you." She nodded slowly.

"Okay." She touched his hand. "Okay, Chanton. It's okay." He waited until she left again to start crying.

* * *

><p>It took longer than Jayn would have liked. She was trapped in Kalm for a week, as Chanton's stitches were redone over and over again, and as the doctors began demonstrating therapy techniques to him. It didn't help that the boy was depressed. He didn't want to do anything, especially things concerning his nearly useless arm.<p>

Jayn never kept much money with her. She earned enough by killing monsters, but it was just as quickly spent on food an inn rents and wine, and even more on hair dye. Her natural hair color was resilient, and if she didn't dye it regularly every couple of weeks, the roots would start to turn blue. But the week in Kalm was costly, so she decided to pitch a tent outside of town instead of pay for a full seven days of use of a room.

She was settled in front of a nice warm fire, dripping the last drops of corel wine into the sticks to raise flames. It had started to snow, and she disliked the cold. Her chocobo sat beside her, feathers ruffled to retain heat better, and she leaned into the warm plumage. He wrapped his long neck around her and she absent-mindedly massaged under his feathers.

"You missed me, huh?" She asked, with a slight smile. Blue chocobos were the most enduring breed of chocobo. She was glad he wasn't apparently bothered by the cold, but provided enough heat for the both of them.

She woke in the morning of the eighth day or waiting, covered in a thin layer of frost.

Standing was difficult, and her cold limbs creaked like and old woman's when she stood. Her chocobo followed in her example, rising up onto his long yellow legs and shaking the snow off of himself with a head-to-tail shake.

* * *

><p>Chanton was not tired. He felt dirty and lazy though. Like he wanted to get up and take a bath, like the nurses had been suggesting to him, but his legs were unresponsive.<p>

He had been awake for a while now, but he didn't get up. He looked out the window at the snow-covered rooftops. He wished he could stay inside…safe, and warm. It looked awful outside.

Without so much as a knock, Jayn barged into his room. A nurse was following at her heels, but silenced when she saw Chase awake. Jayn looked over her shoulder at the woman.

"Fast asleep, you say?"

"He wasn't making any noise."

"Playing dead, are we?" Jayn said, now addressing the boy. The nurse reluctantly left. "Not today we aren't. Ready to get going? I sure as hell am." Chanton swallowed nervously, finally moving his legs away from the stationary position that he been frozen into. He struggled, and gasped when his limbs were as weak as his arm.

Jayn read right through him, and stuck her hand under the sheet and snatched both of his small legs under her forearm, and guided them over the side of the bed until they hung towards the floor.

Chanton pushed himself up with his good arm, then sort of pushed away from the bed. He instantly dropped to the ground, but Jayn caught him by the collar of his clinic shirt.

"Have you _walked _yet?" She demanded accusingly. He shook his head. The woman sighed and heaved him back into a sitting position on the edge of the cot. "Look, if you don't use your body for a while, you'll forget." She reached under his good arm and lifted him onto his shaky feet again. If it weren't for her steely grip, he would have fallen again. "You have to practice."

He took a few steps, practically carried by the woman, before stopping and grabbing at her hand with his good arm.

"Can…I-…" He took a few angry breaths. "This isn't helping!" He finally snapped. "Put me down!" She tossed him back to the bed, and he collected himself to glare at her. She frowned at him, chewing on the inside of her lip. "What!"

"Those clothes." She said. He examined himself and groaned. She was right. A flimsy pair of paper-thin shorts and shirt wouldn't keep him warm. Or decent. "Work on walking." She said. "I'll pick some things up for you. We're leaving when I come back."

Jayn was as breathless as the boy when she left the room. How was she supposed to take care of him when he was so helpless? He hadn't even taken it upon himself to start walking again!

Chanton punched the pillow in with his good arm, then threw his face into the hand print and yelled. What had he gotten himself into? Sure, that woman could be his only chance to get away, but she was so…so…!

He rubbed his face back and forth, smearing tears, then fixed his eyes on the window again. He knew she was strong. She'd saved him, after all. And that sensation felt familiar. He knew those color of eyes, and he'd seen them before, many times. A few memories were more preserved in his mind, but he rejected their relation to the brown-haired woman. She hadn't been in them, no matter how familiar she seemed.

* * *

><p>Jayn picked out a gray jacket and black pants, and had already paid for them and exited the store when she remembered that boys usually wore t-shirts under jackets. And underwear under their pants.<p>

She'd gone through the store in circles, thrice before she finally left with everything she needed. The clerk was laughing as she hurried through the doors. Cloths were expensive. More than vanilla wine, she thought bitterly. The outfit she wore was durable, and she simply mended it when in tore, rather than buying replacement leather. But this boy would need more, she knew it.

…_Socks_.

Chase hadn't even tried getting back onto his feet by the time Jayn returned. He lied though, and protested that despite his efforts, the task was too hard.

"So, you'll need help getting dressed then?" She asked, dropping the assortment of clothing onto the bed.

"That's different!" He yelled. But all she did was turn her back, because he eventually did need help, and he admitted it after sitting for five minutes, debating whether to ask her or simply go outside shirtless. He looked angrily to the frost-covered window before finally piping up.

Jayn had to unsling his arm and carefully maneuver it through the arm-hole, then guide it through the long sleeve of the sweater. She was deliberately taking her time, but she still managed to snag it and send pain up through his broken arm. More than once did he yell and utter a creative curse at her. She was surprised at the boy's advanced jargon. It seemed he'd gotten past the initial phase of being shy. She also had to tie his shoes, since the action required fine motor skills of both hands.

As she bent beside him, he caught a close-up glimpse of the thick scar above her eye. He'd noticed it along with her swords, but it still demanded his attention in a close proximity. It was ragged, and uneven along the edges as if she'd head-butted a piece of scrap metal. The dead, flaky skin, almost a grey color, surrounding it grossed him out, but he kept quiet.

"There." She said, tapping the messy rabbit-ears of his shoelaces. "I'm used to zippers." She said, as he frowned disapprovingly.

She got a box of medicine, including needles and syringes, from the nurse, and seemed just as uneasy about the package as Chanton did. Finally, they left the clinic. She kept one hand firmly on his sweater, and so tight that her fingers wound around the t-shirt underneath, to help him not fall over as he walked.

The boy wasn't excited when they stopped in front of a large, blue chocobo.

"Hold onto him while I pack up." She said, moving his good arm to the bird's lowered neck.

"Wait- I don't want-" he impulsively lashed out and caught the bird as he fell, tugging its feathers. It screeched, and shuffled its feet, but remained still. Chanton held his breath when the bird examined him, and kept his eyes screwed shut.

"Don't like chocobos?" Jayn asked quizzically. He shook his head. "That's not right!" She protested over dramatically, before heaving the boy over the saddle and onto the bird's back. He felt as if he were on top of the ShinRa Power Company's main building. He hated heights.

Jayn swung her leg over, nearly kneeing him in the face, and seated herself behind him. She reached around him on either side, taking the reins in her hands. As her arms passed his, he again took noticed of all the scars. Some were burns too. Neat cuts and puncture wounds.

She flicked her wrists, and the chocobo was off.

The lumbering gate didn't both Jayn. Chanton felt her body move fluidly with each stride, but he was bouncing all over because he was so tense. She ended up winding one arm around his torso to keep him from falling.

"Where are we going?" He finally asked.

"I was thinking…Gongaga." She said. He wrinkled his nose.

"There are monsters all over the place there."

"Yeah, but no snow." He sighed, examining the ground as they hurried over it. Still traces of fine powder. He even used to like the snow, until he was almost killed in it.

"I guess." Jayn could have pulled an all-nighter, but Chanton was falling asleep, and it was harder to keep a sleeping child from falling, than one that was still awake. Plus her chocobo was tired from the extra weight. She helped him slide off of the blue's back, and wrapped him in a blanket as she started a fire. He watched, half-awake, as she took out an orange sphere, and set a pile of branches aflame just by speaking a word. His eyes widened when the thick flame jumped into existence. She put the orb away and waved for him to join her.

"You have material too?" He asked, between a yawn. She nodded.

"You know about it?"

"Who doesn't?" he mumbled, before curling up on the dirt and forcing his eyes shut.

* * *

><p>Jayn didn't want to scare the boy with her swords. She hadn't touched them since they started traveling together two days ago. But she needed to practice.<p>

She woke up early, and walked a few paces away from the quiet campsite before taking out her pair of swords. They had been replaced so many times, that she was used to adapting to new weights and shapes. As long as there were two, she was content.

She moved her left hand in front, and began the sequence of practice forms. It was something her mentor had taught her long ago, mostly to keep herself warm if she got bored, but she found that it was the only formal practice she ever did. She tossed her right-handed sword into the air, preformed a two-handed sweep with her left, caught the blade as if fell, then finished with an X-slice.

She felt her forehead with the back of her hand, and saw a few drops of translucent blue on the skin when she looked.

She turned around, wiping her face again with her glove, and noticed that Chanton was wide awake and staring at her.

"Morning." She said. His green eyes were fixated on her swords until she put them away. "Hungry?"

She took out the rest of packaged food from her stores, along with the medicine kit. She read the instructions over again, then placed an assortment of pills beside a breakfast of dried meat.

Chanton wrinkled his nose.

"If you're so good at fighting, why don't you kill something so we can eat something fresh for once."

"This is only the second time I've fed you and you're already sick of it?" She clarified, seating herself beside him. "Besides, you have to be careful if you want to eat a wild monster. A lot of them are experiments escaped from ShinRa. It wouldn't be wise to put them, and whatever chemicals they're filled with, in your body." Chanton stuck his arm out from under the blanket, drawing the food closer.

"Whatever. I can't eat pills with this." Jayn frowned.

"You have to."

"Well I can't." He said stubbornly, before gnawing off the edge of the meat. Jayn started to glare.

"Look, I'll get fresh food in Gongaga. But we can't wait until then. That arm will get infected and it'll fall off if you don't take your medicine." Chanton clenched the meat, glaring at it like he was imagining it to be Jayn's throat.

"It's going to fall off anyways." He finally muttered. Jayn groaned.

"No it's not! Take your medicine." He didn't move. "I'll force-feed you if I have to." His eyes met hers, appalled. She raised an eyebrow.

Grudgingly, the boy closed his fist over the capsules, and piece by piece, they disappeared into his mouth. Jayn reached into her bag and offered him a bottle.

"This'll make it go down easier." He didn't want to take anything from her, but the bitter taste was fresh in his mouth. He chugged a few gulps of the drink before tasting it. Then he spit.

"What is it!" He demanded, tossing the bottle her way.

"Rice wine." Jayn said. "I got it in Wutai." She tapped the side, listening to the dull echo. "And you just spit it out…"

"That's gross! Don't you have something better- like honey water or corel?" Jayn's eyebrows flew up on her head.

"Well you're well-versed in your alcohol." She commented. He shrugged, looking away. She stared at him longer though, wondering how such a young boy knew of a drink only served at the Honey Bee brothel.

"If you want, I'll take you hunting sometime." She offered, changing the subject. The boy's face instantly lit up, though he seemed more surprised than excited.

"Really?" She nodded, twirling her swords into her sheaths impressively, and gave him a sideways smirk. She was happy that she'd finally said something that put a little light in his skin.

"Yep. And…" She tapped her sword belt. "Maybe teach you how to use a sword." His face tightened again.

"But my arm-"

"Will heal." She said firmly, though Chanton obviously didn't believe her. "And when you can hold one of my swords on your own, you can keep it. Okay?" He seemed read to lunge at the offer, but sighed and relaxed backwards.

"A gun would be easier to use, wouldn't it?"

"Anyone can use a gun, because they're easy, weak weapons to use." She said, her voice low and angry. "We've both been shot, and it sucks, but that's a weapon for cowards." She nodded at him. "You want to fight, then you're going to accept that." Chanton looked away again. The offer was still tempting, but with each glace to his arm, he felt his confidence sink lower.

"Let's go." Jayn said, breaking him out of his indecisiveness. "Gongaga's just past the gorge."

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN~You guys are awesome. I can't believe all of the reviews I got so quickly. I hope you like my writing in 2nd person. Sort of new for me, and It won't last forever XP**_

_**I plan to do a few more chapters of Jayn, before hitting FF7. I hope you like it!**_


	3. Getting to No

Chanton was a little upset when Jayn stopped on the outskirts of the settlement to make camp. He could see the warm huts below them in the valley, smoke rising from the fire pits as lunch was made.

"We can't go to the inn?" He whined, shaking off a dewdrop that splashed onto his shoulder from an overhanging palm tree. She shook her head.

"There isn't one." A continuation of the whine. She reached up, took him by the hips, and effortlessly placed lifted him off of the saddle and on the ground beside the chocobo. He instantly flopped onto his backside, and crossed his good arm around himself.

Jayn removed the blue's saddle, slinging it over a fallen jungle tree. The bird warked happily, shaking out his damp feathers until they stood up on end like spikes. Jayn leaned back against the tree, staring longingly at the bird, and who she reminded her of.

"It's bad to leave chocobos without names, isn't it?" She asked aloud. Chanton looked up from his thoughts.

"Not really."

"No, it is…" Jayn insisted. "And I've already got a name…" Chanton didn't seem interested. Jayn sighed. "Cloud?" The blue chocobo looked up, eager to finally have a title to respond to.

"Wait- _Cloud_?" Chanton repeated.

"Yeah…" She said, almost sadly. Chanton sighed.

"That's a dumb name."

"_No_." She snapped, shaking her head at the ground. "It's the best name ever and don't say another word about it." He scoffed, but chose not to speak anymore. She seemed moody.

He just shook his head, and looked away, absentmindedly massaging his arm. Jayn watched, as his fingers stopped at the gauze, picking at the tape that stuck the bandages to his skin. The spot was red from scratching. Jayn slowly closed the distance and knelt in front of him.

"Can I see?" She asked, mustering her softest voice. Chanton noticed the effort, frowning at her tone.

"Talk normally." He said. "I don't like it when women try to…" He shrugged, not having a word to describe it with, or not wanting to use it. Jayn nodded, and cleared her throat to let her rough voice through.

"Yeah, you're right." She laughed a little, a short, deep chuckle. "Look, I never had a little brother. I left home to be around adults when I was fifteen. I don't know how to talk to you."

"_Normally_." He insisted. She sighed.

"That's a relief." He held out his arm, and she gently undid the sling. "Okay, try holding it up on your own." She tried to lower her hand, but his arm followed. She heard his breathing increase. "Okay, we're not there yet. Move your fingers." He wiggled them, though slowly. She smiled at him. "See?"

"Can't do anything with that." He grumbled.

"We'll work on it." She set his arm down. "Keep moving your fingers. Hang on…" She went into her pack and pulled out a few articles of clothing, mostly blacks, before finding a sheet of gray fabric. She folded it up and rolled it into a ball. "Here." She placed it in his hand. He just frowned at it. "You _squeeze_ it." She said, with a quick laugh. "My…I got stabbed one time through my hand," She opened up her fingers and showed him a very faint line on her palm. "And my mentor gave me this…_rubber band_ ball for me to squeeze until I got better. It really helped."

Chanton was still on her words '_I got stabbed one time'_.

"When did you get stabbed?" She rolled her eyes.

"That's all you heard?" He nodded. "I forget. Now squeeze it."

He felt stupid squeezing the old bandana. But at least he could. He made a weak fist, held it, and released, letting the fabric uncoil in his hand. Then he grabbed it again, meshing it back into the spherical shape. He tried to apply enough pressure to get it to stay like that.

"Ready to go hunting?" Jayn asked. When he looked back up, he saw that a fire pit had been made. How long had he been at it?

He nodded.

"Okay."

They went on foot, leaving the Cloud to forage.

"Will he be okay?" Chanton asked, looking back over his shoulder as the chocobo scratched up a patch of dark soil, pinning bugs with its toes.

"Oh yeah, he's smart. Besides, monsters would be dumb to attack a chocobo. Didn't you see his spurs?"

Jayn led them into the jungle, away from the looming metal building that was the old mako reactor. Chanton kept glancing back at it.

"It blew up a few years ago, right?" He asked. Jayn nodded.

"More like…it _burned_ up…" She started giggling, but Chanton couldn't guess why.

Jayn held out her arm for him to stop.

"Okay, listen before we go any further. I'm good at what I do, but you have to stay back." She faced him. "And if I tell you to run, you run, got it?"

"I thought you said you were good-"

"Some monsters explode." She looked sideways, and added, "I hate it when they do that…If I tell you to run, I'll probably be following you." He laughed, then caught himself and silenced. It was too early to be happy.

Chanton spotted a wolf-like monster lounging in an overhead tree, its tail swaying back and forth in the wind. He smacked Jayn's back to alert her, but she shook her head. She had seen the monster too, and they were going to leave it be.

"First, no. That's a hybrid. See? It's got paws, and claws, that don't seem to match the rest of its body. And secondly, you can only hit me with your left arm."

"What?" She turned and faced him, then poked his bandaged arm. "This one." She smirked. "Where's your sling?" He examined his arm, startled, and realized that he had in fact left it back at camp. It hung on its own, with only the ball of cloth in his hand. He looked back up at her, and she just smiled.

In the next clearing, Jayn stopped them. A dark-spotted leopard was digging a hole on the edge of the trees, unaware of the two humans approaching. Jayn nodded, unsheathing her left sword. Chanton's eyes fixed on the shimmering blade. It looked expensive, probably the only things he spent money on, and deadly. A full meter of cold steel. She leaned over him.

"Don't blink now." She shifted her feet, then dashed. The leopard spun and faced her, exposing its neck. The animal dropped, without so much as a yelp, but Chanton heard himself gasp. He really hadn't seen what happened. Jayn stood back up, wiping her sword clean with a rag. Chanton glanced at his own ball of fabric, hoping that it wasn't used the same way.

Jayn wrapped the cloth around the animal's neck so it wouldn't leave a trail of blood, before slinging it over her shoulder like a backpack and jogging back over.

"Dinner?" He nodded approvingly.

"Yeah." It was still just the afternoon, so Jayn gave into Chanton's request to hunt another one. It was the only thing he showed interest in, and she didn't want to say no. She made some more gil, fishing it out of the monster's bodies, but stopped after the second joykill.

She was already worrying about Chanton. He liked it too much already. As they walked back to the camp, she looked over her shoulder, taking in his features again. He was a handsome child, really. No blemishes, as if he'd spent all of his days indoors. Light blond hair, almost red, and large green eyes. He actually reminded her of Rufus ShinRa, which she didn't like. They even shared a bit of his shrewdness.

"Hey, Chanton?"

"Yeah?" He piped up. She hesitated, fearing that their impending talk would send that voice away again.

"I don't want you getting the wrong idea. Killing, even monsters, isn't too special."

"Are you a mercenary?" He asked. The question didn't catch her off guard though. She had a feeling the boy would be quick to make an argument against her. She inclined her head.

"Yes." She replied simply.

"Then you kill for a living, don't you?" She stopped until he caught up to her. He was focused on his hand, and the makeshift stress ball.

"Don't get me wrong. I don't do it for fun." She looked at the dark ground underfoot, but focused on the dull, perpetual pain above her eye. A constant reminder. If the boy hadn't figured it out by her looks, and skills with a sword, Jayn was about to tell him "I gave that hobby up. I_ grew_ up." He looked at her quizzically. She had a sudden urge not to tell him. Maybe it would be for the better.

Just then, a large monster flung itself in their path. A lion-bodied, winged monster with a beak. It reared up on its hind legs, then drew its wings far back. Chanton had never seen such a creature, but apparently Jayn had.

"Get down!" Jayn yelled. A flurry of razor-edged feathers shot their way, and Chanton ducked to the ground. But not a single feather touched him. He heard a dozen 'clink!'s as Jayn deflected them with her blades. He kept his face buried in the ground as she dashed forward and cut the griffon's shoulder. Unlike natural-born animals, these hybrids had armor-like skin, and her blades weren't able to cut through it. She drew her right-handed sword and cut one of its legs off as it sliced her with a wing. She pulled away, then sidestepped its next attack, momentarily forgetting the boy behind her.

To prevent the next wave of feathers from reaching him, she rammed herself into its wings, redirecting them to the left. A few of them scraped past her arms, and she was left wide open. It lashed out with its hind leg, climbing into the air by using her hip as a step. Jayn fell backwards, but jumped back to her feet just as quickly. She waited for it to dive at her, then flipped her swords into a backhand grip, and ducked under the monster as it flew above her. She sliced upwards, cutting its unprotected belly. It gave a strangled screech, and collapsed in front of Chanton.

Jayn swallowed hard, and wiped her hands over her stinging arms.

Chanton looked up, trembling at the sight.

"P-perfect timing." She stammered. "Told you, it's all fun and games until a lionbird tries to…" He looked from her, back to the monster.

"Are you okay?" She finally asked. He nodded hastily, and she breathed a sigh of relief. At least he could stand the sight.

"Are _you_?" He demanded back. Jayn examined herself. A few cuts on the arms, a puncture wound in her side. Nothing a potion wouldn't heal.

"Yeah." She said. Then she exhaled, a quick, startled puff of air. Chanton flinched. Was that a gasp? "But I didn't know these monsters were back here. Get up." She lifted him and started running back to the camp.

"What about the leopard!" Chanton shouted, seeing that she was leaving behind a decent meal.

"Leave it, come on!" She sounded urgent, so he hurried to follow. He lost sight of her as she ran, but he easily followed the path in the underbrush, and then, her yells. He could hear the same sound that the griffon monster had made, along with Jayn's angry shouts. He skidded to a stop, and hesitated before their camp. He waited until the violent sounds ceased, before venturing into the clearing.

He pushed back the heavy leaves, and saw her hunched over the blue chocobo. Chanton froze at the sight. A pair of griffons lay nearby, bleeding from fresh, deadly cuts.

Chanton approached slowly, his breathing slow and labored.

"Shh…it's okay, it's okay…" Jayn was whispering. She was holding a glowing orb above a deep gash on the avian's thick neck. A healing material, he recognized the glow. She continued to move her hands back and forth along his body, feeling for more deadly gashes. "Come on, Cloud…" She whispered. "You can make it…come on…" Her voice hitched, and Chanton circled her. Tears were speckling her cheeks. He recoiled. Mercenaries weren't supposed to cry…Gaia, they weren't supposed to have feelings. "Please don't…Cloud, please don't." The chocobo's body rose up and down with its quick, short breaths, but the bird wasn't even blinking.

"Jayn?" She jumped, reaching for her nearby sword. Chanton scrabbled backwards, but Jayn saw him and quickly put her hands back over the chocobo.

"Chanton…uhm, can you get me one of those blue bottles from my pack please?" He nodded, and dashed off for her things. He unzipped her back and gasped.

Bottles of alcohol…lots of them. And about two were the kind for cleaning wounds. Mostly small, curvy brown bottles that read 'vanilla wine'. He found a half dozen or so of the tiny blue potions towards the bottom, buried under her trove of alcohol. He handed it to her, and watched as she drank it, rather than give it to the bird. Instantly, the glow from her hands increased, lighting up the clearing.

Finally, the chocobo blinked. He raised his head, looking around wildly for signs of danger. But Jayn placed her other hand on his beak, and whispered a spell. The bird cried out sleepily, then settled back on the ground, shifting its long, sprawled legs into a more comfortable position.

"Griffons love chocobo meat…" She said quietly. "But I thought that after I blew up the reactor, they would stop appearing…_Stupid_…" She continued to heal the bird until the rest of the ethers were used up, then shakily set out her bead roll and dropped onto it.

"Are you okay?" Chanton asked. She nodded, her eyes closed. He saw little dewdrops at the corners of her eyes though, or was it sweat? All the magic seemed to have drained her. Maybe she was being silent because she couldn't form even words.

She seemed to be napping, but every few minutes, she would twitch, and her head would swivel around to check the clearing. Finally, she rolled back into a seated position, unable to sleep.

"What time is it?" Chanton shrugged, giving the stress ball a tight squeeze. She took a deep breath. "You must be hungry…I'm sorry." He pointed to her bag, and saw that a bag of food had been set out and emptied.

"I ate all of the rest though." He said. She looked down the path, at the village, and smelled the air.

"Oh!" she focused in on one of the huts, where steam was rising from the chimney. "It's pie time!" She said happily.

"What time?" She faced him, a large smile on her face.

"If you're hungry, why don't you go into town and get something to eat?" She untied her gil pouch and offered him a dozen coins. "There's a family that makes the best pastries. The second hut on the left side- in the corner. The one with all the smoke." She sighed longingly.

"Is it a shop?" He asked. She hesitated, but nodded.

"Great prices. Now hurry up. I'm staying here, this path is pretty safe, just hurry." After the appearance of the griffons, Chanton didn't want to venture out alone. It took some more convincing on Jayn's part, and his aching stomach, before he finally sprinted down the hill and into the village.

The steep incline was loose underfoot, and he slid most of the way down until the ground leveled out. He found himself standing in the middle of the village. A woman passing by gave his a frown, confused at his sudden entrance into the square.

He rushed past her and looked for the shop. He hated sweets, but he loved pie. He'd only had it once before, from the flower girl in the slums. She liked him, and he wished that he could have been found by _her_ instead of Jayn.

But that would mean living in the slums. He wanted out of the slums more than anything. He thought he'd gotten his wish when his mother took him to Kalm for a winter trip. But she left without him, and he'd left with a broken arm.

Chanton pushed the thoughts aside, and found the house with drifts of smoke above it.

* * *

><p>"Jayn."<p>

"…_Jayn_."

She finally roused, and stared at the boy with clear confusion.

"What?" She snapped. Chanton frowned at her. His good arm was holding a bag, and his other was clutching a half eaten slice of pie.

"You were saying weird things." He said. "Were you dreaming?"

Jayn rolled over on her bed roll.

"I don't feel rested at all…" She groaned. "What have you got there?"

"That wasn't a shop you sent me to." He said, dropping the heavy bag. "It was just someone's house. They kept on feeding me though, and made me take all this food back with me." Jayn sat up, beaming.

"I had hoped so." She took the bag, rifling through it until she found a pie box. "How are they?" she added. The boy shrugged.

"Fine, I guess. Why?"

"No reason." She shrugged as well. She used her fingers to lift pieces of crust to her mouth, and her eyes rolled back. "Gaia, that's good." Chanton laughed.

"You're weird."

"Punk."

"Freak."

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN~ I have a few more chapters before ff7. I'm focusing on my Zelda fic now, but this one hasn't been abandoned lol...**_


	4. Headaches

Jayn was full of quirks and surprises. Like, after a few weeks, Chanton thought he noticed the top of her head turning blue. He thought it was his imagination- or the reflection of Cloud's feathers. But she noticed it too, and assured him that it was a normal occurrence.

"That's its natural color." She told him sheepishly.

"No!" He laughed. But a few days later, half her hair was a pretty, weird dark blue, and only the lower tips were brown. She looked a lot like a rockstar, with the scars and crazy hair. They had to go into a bigger city to get hair dye. She usually only let her roots get blue, but the boy distracted her. Luckily, she wanted nothing to do with Midgar either, so they went to Rocket Town for a brief stop.

Another one of Jayn's weird habits, was yelling a boy's name out in her sleep. And it wasn't just one. There was Zack, Shayne, _Shay_, Kunsel, Angeal, Genesis, and even the name of her chocobo! But one name was yelled with a kind of…she sounded scared.

Chanton was in the middle of a nice dream, a happy one, and he wanted to savor it. But then Jayn bolted upwards, hitting him with her shoulder, and gasped.

"Sephir-!" This time, she snapped out of it early and didn't finish his name. The name of the legendary 1st Class SOLDIER, Sephiroth.

Chanton groaned, and rolled over, rubbing his eyes.

"Gaia, Jayn…Did you have a crush on him or something?" She kind of went stiff, and he got a little nervous, but then she started laughing.

Chanton thought it was funny too, and giggled a little. Yeah, lots of girls had a crush on him, but Jayn? Jayn didn't seem like the crush-type.

"I kept a scrapbook collection of his newspaper clippings." She suddenly said, in the same, lighthearted voice. She laughed again, then faced him, and he almost jumped from the look she gave him. "Then he tried to kill me. And _I_ tried to kill him. You're always asking about my scars, well," She pointed to her right shoulder, and pulled the collar of her shirt down. Even in the darkness, I could see the jagged end of a scar. She pointed across her chest, and stopped her finger at the left side of her stomach, then lifted her shirt up just an inch, and I saw where the scar must have ended on her hip. How had she survived?

"You're alive. Does that mean you won?" He asked. She dropped her hands, and looked at them. Then she rolled back over onto her side and curled up under the blanket.

"I lost…badly."

Chanton remained staring at her for a minute. If she fought Sephiroth…what kind of mercenary was she?

* * *

><p>Jayn hating staying still. Chanton could tell that by the way she slept, and by the way she was packing their things the next morning.<p>

Chanton wouldn't say it, but he still doubted her skill as a fighter. Sure, she had the swords, and could kills monsters by sneaking up on them, but he wondered if her mako eyes were just for show.

He found out sooner than he would have liked.

Jayn wasn't pushing Cloud like she usually did, so he could recover from any remaining scratches. She'd thoroughly healed him, but Jayn was paranoid.

Thanks to their slow pace, they had entered the canyons at dusk.

"When are we goanna stop?" Chanton demanded. The stress-ball could only keep him entertained for so long, and their brief pauses throughout the day had been boring. Jayn had tried to teach him some swordplay, but the blades were heavy, even in his uninjured hand.

"These canyons are dangerous. When we get out of them, we'll take a break, okay? Maybe even stop for a while." Jayn was sick of making camp where monsters could attack her. She was looking for a place where the Company wouldn't be likely to go, and still had inn rooms. Kalm had been a risk.

Chanton tensed in front of her, and Jayn looked at him, then snapped her head up to see the narrow path in front of them.

Then, the shadows stepped out of hiding. Not just one or two, but a whole gang. At least five, though only two approached them at first. The other three surrounded them in a loose semi-circle. When Jayn tried to turn around, another man slid down the side of the hill and blocked the narrow exit. Cloud shuffled his feet and warked. The man nodded at Jayn.

"Why don't you come on down here, little lady." Chanton's hands tightened on her back.

"Jayn…"

"Shh." She said. "Just hold on." She started to dismount like the man had demanded, then reared up and kicked Cloud. The chocobo honked, feathers on end, and jumped over the man and broke into a run. It was shortly lived though. Jayn shouted, and suddenly was thrown off the chocobo behind Chanton. She'd been off-balanced by a punch, and couldn't stay seated in the saddle.

"Jayn!" Chanton screamed.

"Run!" She shouted back.

Cloud hesitated when his owner was suddenly tossed off, and in seconds, two of the five men reached over his back, pulling Chanton down. He screamed, and his mouth was smothered by dirty hands. He couldn't see.

"Won't everyone just calm down!" The leader yelled. "Now, miss troublemaker. We've got your little boy over there." He said, slowly approaching her. His dirty hand touched her braid. She glared.

"Boy's cute." The man holding Chanton said. "Can't be yours though." He touched Jayn's face, and she flinched away, obviously furious.

"Maybe worth more than the girl." The man beside Jayn chuckled.

"Too bad you're not all that pretty. Oh well, you could keep us company for a little, right?" His hand touched her face again. A moment later it was broken. Her hand held his, but at a very awkward angle.

"Your hand was straying again." She twitched her fingers, and the man screamed. The two other men surrounding her closed in.

"Drop the swords!" They yelled. The man's grip on Chanton tightened. "Or the kid'll get it!" He gasped, but my airway was cut off. Jayn's eyes snapped to them. She wasn't used to fighting with someone to protect. There was a reason she had never been hired as an escort.

"Okay!" She yelled, lifting her sword behind her deceivingly. "I'm dropping them." She flicked her wrists, and the two men holding Chanton yelled. Something hot splattered over his face before the men fell to the ground, groaning and sobbing. Chanton jumped away from them, breathing heavily, but felt like he wasn't getting any air at all. What he was seeing was impossible. Jayn was fighting off three men, empty handed. She further broke the one man's wrist, and knocked him out with a punch to the side of the head.

A few more yells and she ran over to him.

She gasped and rubbed her arms over his face. He held his breath, not wanting any blood in my mouth. He already felt sick.

"It's okay…It's okay." She repeated. Chanton just stared at her, and watched as her arms covered in red from his face. She pulled him to his feet, but he felt too weird, and couldn't stand on his own. But as he'd just learned, she was strong. She demonstrated it again by lifting him all the way over Cloud's back. Then she pulled herself up behind him and the chocobo eagerly took off.

Before he knew it, he was shirtless, standing beside a river, and shivering as Jayn dumped water over his head. He gasped, and wiped his hands over his face. His arm stung, and he let out a weak whine.

"Are you okay?" She demanded.

"They grabbed my arm." He said. Her motions became gentler around his scarred shoulder.

"I'm sorry about that." She dried him with one of her spare shirts. "Damn…why did I only buy one?" She muttered, before throwing Chanton's old shirt onto the ground. She sifted through her bag, then shook out a black t-shirt. "Here." Chanton put it on, angling his throbbing arm so it wouldn't snag. It was a little big, but it didn't slide off his shoulders.

Jayn laughed weakly.

"I have the same shape as a little boy, who knew."

"You're not ugly." Chanton said. She frowned at him. "What those men said." He'd been around pretty women for as long as he could remember. Jayn acted like a boy, and talked like one, but she wasn't ugly. She was dirty, but real. But he wasn't about to say all of that mushy stuff to her.

Jayn sighed, then wrapped her arms around him and kissed the top of his head.

"Dragging you out of the snow was the best mistake I ever made." He wriggled out of her grip, but she caught him again. "And I'm not letting you go!"

"Grr-ge'off!"

"_No_."

"Gaia, you're weird!"

"Oh, I love you too."

"Eeewww! Don't say that!" As he grabbed at her arms, he noticed something on her wrist. "What's that?" He pointed out.

"Oh, I'm not falling for that!" She yelled, smothering him again.

"No-umph- seriously. You've got this rash or something." She let him go and examined her arm, frowning. She tried to wipe the grey streaks away, but it wouldn't smear.

"Weird." But as usual, she shrugged it off.

* * *

><p>She wanted to put some distance between the mountains and themselves.<p>

They were now crossing through the swamps, in the middle of the night. Chanton could tell that even Jayn was nervous, which meant he should be terrified. He didn't see any monsters, but kept seeing the puddles move, or a patch of moss suddenly glide along the surface of the water. Cloud kept on going though, jumping along logs and shallow patches of water. Different color chocobos liked different terrain, and he thought blue meant water.

Jayn and Chanton didn't talk much. She was focusing. She looked over her shoulder and her eyes, which were visibly aglow in the darkness, narrowed.

"What is it?" He asked, before she cut him off with a hush.

"Shh." She replied. "Just stay calm. There's a monster out there, but we should be able to get out of the swamps in time." Chanton tensed, grabbing her back nervously.

"In _time_?"

"Shh."

Cloud was getting tiered, but Jayn didn't permit a break. The glances backwards became more frequent, until Cloud was sprinting.

"Damn it." Chanton looked back too and saw a huge shadow pursuing them. It was creating giant ripples, almost waves, moving aside any floating debris.

"What is it?" He demanded, clutching her back.

"Unfriendly." They leapt over a mossy log and heard it break only a moment later. Jayn looked back again, then swung her legs over the side of Cloud.

"Jayn!"

"I messed up, we can't outrun it." She said, unsheathing a sword. "The fields aren't far- run to them." Chanton shook his head.

"No! Don't leave me!" She leapt off and landed knee-deep in the murky water. Then a massive serpent broke the surface of the marsh, rising above the trees. It snapped its jaws open wide, showing off rows upon rows of poison-coated fangs.

It reared back, then launched itself at Jayn, and she was out of sight.

Cloud ran to the grass, and his feet thumped loudly over the field. It was so silent now, terrifyingly so. It reminded him of the night he'd almost died in Kalm. It had been quiet then too, until the gunshots. Chanton closed his eyes hard, but the image of Jayn fighting wouldn't leave him. He finally gasped and pulled back on the reins.

"No! We're going back!" The chocobo warked in protest, but skidded to a halt.

"She may need a quick getaway!" He yelled. "Come on, Cloud! She's your owner!" The chocobo shuffled his feet, swinging his head. He tried to lead him in the direction of Jayn, but his body kept doing circles. Finally, he settled with the direction I wanted, and ran.

Cloud skidded to another halt before they entered the battle zone. Jayn's hair was messy, and she was soaked and strings of moss hung off her shoulders. But the serpent looked angry. It swayed back and forth, trying to trick her. She stepped back, wrapping her arms around herself, then leapt into the air. Chanton was always surprised at how high she was able to get. She cleared its head, then swung her swords down. It swayed out of the way, though the blade tips cut off chunks of scales. It actually had quite a few slashes in its hide. Jayn could win!

She landed, then collapsed onto her right knee. Chanton gasped with her, as she dropped her swords and grabbed her arm- the one with the black rash.

"Jayn!" He screamed. Her eyes flashed to him, horrified. The serpent was quick, and dove down in that split-second she was distracted.

Its jaws closed over her, and its long fangs sunk into her body. She screamed, and so did Chanton.

Then it picked her up and tossed her to the side. She bounced in the water, like someone skipping a stone, then just sunk.

"Jayn- _Jayn_, no!" The serpent didn't care about Chanton. It lowered itself into the water and swam to where she'd disappeared. "No! Leave her alone!" He screamed, jumping off Cloud's back. He picked up a wet stick and threw it, but it didn't even reach the monster. He dunked his hand in up to his shoulder and pulled out a muddy rock. That was able to reach it. It hit a wound, and the serpent whipped its tail and swung its head towards him, splattering purple venom in the water like oil.

There was another splash, this time as something came out of the water. Then, the serpent hissed again, and its lower jaw was cut off. It screeched in pain, and its tail slapped the water, breaking entire logs with one hit. Chanton backed away, keen to avoid its rampage, and to get a better look at what had happened.

Jayn stood below the serpent, holding her swords casually. She looked at her hands, and tossed away the sword in her right hand.

"Jayn?" She didn't respond. But her head did roll back a little. She looked at Chanton, and he jumped back, tripping on a log, and fell into the water. Her pupils were narrow slits, like snakes eyes.

The serpent threw itself at her, but she just lifter her hand up, and the monster crumpled against her fist. Then she flicked her wrist, and the beast split in half.

She let her sword hang low, and slowly turned around, dragging it in the water. She didn't look like Jayn anymore. She was too pale. Scary. And then, cracks started appearing across her skin.

"Petrification!" Chanton gasped. He'd seen the malboros use it before, and it was deadly! He waded through the water.

"Jayn…? Jayn, you're petrifying! We have to-" She lifted her sword to his neck, pressing the cold tip right into the skin.

"You are too loud." She said…but it wasn't her voice. Well, it was her voice, and then someone else's too.

"What're you-" His throat bulged when he spoke, pushing against the blade.

"Smart boy. Be nice and quiet and maybe I won't kill you on the spot." A flake of skin fell away, like burning paper.

"J-Jayn…stop it." His voice was shaking. Her eyes narrowed.

"I told you not to-" Her eyes snapped shut, and her hand flew to her head. "Oh…look what you've done to our body…" She said, examining her cracking arms. "I can't go on like this, can I? Oh well, I'll let you take care of it." When she finished speaking to herself, her body heaved, and she fell face first back into the water.

Chanton rolled her over, and was forced to use both arms because she was heavy.

Every time he touched her, more of her skin cracked. She needed an antidote soon, or she would die.

"Cloud!" He yelled, and the chocobo ventured from his hiding place. He seemed to know what Chanton needed, because he knelt deep into the water so he could heave Jayn onto his back. She was heavy.

Chanton walked in front of him, leading the bird back into the direction of the grass. When the swamps turned to muddy ground, and finally dry dirt and fields, he almost kissed it. But he didn't have the time.

He ran alongside Cloud as they followed the main traveler's path. Eventually it would lead them to a town, but he didn't know if it would be in time.

Then, in the distance, he saw three yellow chocobos walking his way, carrying riders. He jumped up, waving his arms.

"Help! Please help!" They broke into a run and reached him in only a few seconds.

"Boy, what's the matter?" The first rider asked. But by the time they reached him, they could tell. Jayn was bleeding all over Cloud, and leaving a trail of crimson on the trail behind them. One of the men came up alongside her, and started heaving her onto his chocobo.

"She's petrified!" Chanton warned them. He instantly stopped.

"Can't move her then. All right, I'll run this chocobo back into town and get him to Darvey's place. You guys take the kid back." He watched as the blue and yellow chocobos disappeared back the way they came.

The woman rider offered him a leg up and sat behind him on her chcocobo, as they rode back at a fast jog.

"She'll be okay." She reassured me. "Our doctor's the best there is." Chanton nodded, but he didn't believe her. They hadn't seen all the blood. And that wasn't even the only problem with Jayn! That black rash was causing her to collapse now. If that kept up… "Is she your mom?" She asked. Chanton shook his head instantly. "Older sis maybe?"

"She's a friend of my mom's." He decided. "I'm on a trip with her." The woman hissed.

"That's rough. I'm sorry things went so bad. It'll be okay though. Look, see? There's town. I bet John's already got her inside." He looked up, and saw their town easily. Even in the huge, flat field, it could be hard to miss. There were lots of windmills and water towers, and chococbo barns. But not a lot of lights.

"We don't use ShinRa power." She explained, noticing the boy squinting in the dark. "It's all natural, from the windmills. Not as bright, but it's nicer still." He liked the idea of that.

The riders dropped him off in front of the clinic, where a crowd had gathered.

"Yeah, I saw the blue hair too." "It's her all right." "I'm glad Layle still treated her…you know how that boy feels."

Chanton squirmed past them, using his size to his advantage, and got to the front door. A big, blue-haired man was blocking it though.

"Sorry, kid." He said. "It's too crowded inside already. We don't need spectators."

"But I know her!" He yelled, both offended and desperate. "Let me in!" The man uncrossed his arms, ready to detain him.

"I said no."

"Hey!" The woman he'd ridden back with pushed her way to the crowd. "Calm down, he's telling the truth." She put her hand on his shoulder. "That girl's his friend."

The man nodded.

"Sure, Elsa. But…" he looked back through the window, and leaned closer to the rider. "He's gonna start setting her limbs. Kid doesn't need to hear that." As if on cue, a sharp yell filled the clinic, escaping outside through the cracks and open windows.

Chanton felt my heart double its pace. Jayn.

"What's going on! Is she going to die?" he demanded. Elsa put her hands on his shoulders.

"Let's get you dried off, okay? Are you hungry?" He stepped away from her, and another scream came from the clinic, followed by something shattering. Chanton cupped his hands over his ears.

"Stop it!" He screamed. Then Elsa was practically carrying him away, until they were on the other side of town, and the wind was muting Jayn's screams.

* * *

><p>It was dark when Jayn woke up. She blinked, but her vision was foggy. She was in a clinic…covered in gauze and had tubes poking into her from strange angles. Her eyes widened and she looked around the room. The small movement caused her skin to crack and snap and she gasped, and swallowed her yell. But she had still seen enough. No, this wasn't ShinRa.<p>

She looked around, just with her eyes now, and felt a sinking sensation. This was somewhere else though…a place she just dimly recognized.

The curtain to her left opened, and none other than Layle Darvey walked up to the bed. He lowered the clipboard from his face and stared at her.

"Shouldn't have woken up yet." He said, as if making a mental note to himself.

"Ye-" Jayn swallowed. "Yeah well-" Her throat closed again.

"Can't talk yet. You're still under." She flexed my hands over the thin sheet, anxiously trying to regain feeling. "You were petrified. Been out for a full twenty hours so far. You're in for a fun few days of recovering. Your joints will have to be broken in every day. The best part is, you can't be kept on this dosage of painkillers for much longer."

"Threatening me?" She asked with a weak smile.

"I'm being honest. It's my obligation as a doctor to tell you." He started to leave.

"Wait." She managed. He stopped and looked at her curiously. "There was a b-…the boy?"

"…He's fine." He faced me again. "You didn't go and have a kid did you?" She laughed weakly. "I'll take that as a no."

* * *

><p>Jayn was glaring at her doctor when Chanton came through the curtain. But when she saw him, her eyes lit up.<p>

"Chanton…!" He ran across the room, and skidded to a halt to stop himself from launching at her. He settled with an exchange of smiles.

"I'm so glad you're okay." He said. She smiled weakly.

"Of course I am." Then her stare hardened. "But _you _could have been hurt. I told you to run, and you ignored me." Chanton's eyes fell to the floor.

"I'm sorry." He said weakly.

"Well next time let me focus on the fight, and do what I say." She concluded. Then she sighed, leaning back into the pillows. "Chanton, you make me scared. This time it was me in the hospital bed, but it could have been you."

"I wish it were."

"That much of venom would have killed you!" She snapped. The heart monitor was beeping wildly now. The doctor stood up.

"As much as I would like for you to have a heart attack, I will lose my license if I let you keep screaming at each other. Visiting hours are over." Jayn glared at him. She sure didn't like doctors.

"Oh, bite me, Layle. I'm not about to have a heart attack, you just want me all for yourself." He rolled his eyes.

"I promise you, dear sister, that is the furthest thing on my mind."

"Sister?" Chanton repeated. They looked at him at the same time, and suddenly looked alike. The same blue hair and boxy face and all.

"Of course." Layle piped in. "Can't you see the resemblance?"

"Go on, Chanton." Jayn said, sounding tired. "I need to sleep." He nodded.

"Okay."

Chanton came to see her every day. He stayed for a long time, and came back frequently. He sounded like he was having fun in Saltee. He said Cloud liked all the other chocobos, and was strutting around trying to impress the pink ones. Jayn wanted to get out and see that. Layle wouldn't let her. Prick.

But luckily, she didn't have to.

One day, she heard Chanton enter the clinic, but he held the door open, and heavy, clicking footsteps followed.

"Go find her, boy." She could hardly prepare herself. Suddenly, Cloud's blue head flipped up the curtain. He warked when he saw jayn, and forced his head into her arms. It hurt, but she didn't care.

"Hey, boy! Did you miss me? Aww, I missed you too."

"_Wark wark kweh_!" He got sent out when he tipped over a rack of supplies, but it was worth it.

* * *

><p>Days passed quietly in the quiet town, but at night, Jayn was anything but still. She waited until Layle seemed down with his rounds, then hobbled out of bed. She practiced squats to get her limbs working again.<p>

Layle was impressed with her speedy recovery, blaming it on her mako cells and such.

The people in town avoided her, but were also enamored by the new presence. They were curious, but pretended not to be, and the people of Saltee were bad fakers. Chanton was healing quickly too, thanks to a checkup and medication from the doctor.

"You shouldn't travel with her." Layle said, gently touching Chanton's bruised shoulder. He shrugged, uncertain as to what he should say. Layle was frusteraite dby the boy's loyalty. "She was a SOLDIER, you know."

"'Course I know." Chanton said, as casually as possible for the maximum surprise factor. Like he'd expected, Layle was speechless. "She's got eyes that glow. And she fought Sephiroth one time." Chanton explained.

"Doesn't that bug you?" Layle asked, dropping his hands. Chanton looked at the floor.

"I've been around ShinRa since I was born. My real dad worked there. Maybe he still does. I don't know. I don't care."

* * *

><p>Jayn insisted Chanton keep learning how to use a sword. It was almost like she was waiting for a time when he would need to have that skill.<p>

Every day, they went to the fields and sparred. Jayn showed him how to hold the sword in both hands, since his arm was still too weak to support it on its own, then moved onto basic defense.

She taught him a dozen variations of a block before she let him try to attack her. He expected her to berate his attempts, and was nervous to try. When he did attack, he was of course, blocked with one arm, but she didn't yell at him. She said he was too nervous to do his best, but that would go away with time.

That right there did something for his self esteem. He wanted to show her that he wasn't nervous at all, and the anxiety ebbed when he realized she wasn't going to viciously beat him down, even though she could.

He actually started to feel like he was getting somewhere.

And then she would beat him down.

"Don't be cocky." She said, her voice sharp like her swords. She closed her eyes and sighed. "Enough for today."

"We just started!" Chanton protested.

"Well I'm tired." She lied. Chanton smacked her backside, and she jumped. "Hey! You little punk!" Chanton jumped out of reach when she tried to catch him. A moment later, she had her knee between his shoulder blades, eating grass. She lifted her arm high, and Chanton screamed when she smacked him.

"You're so weird!" He screamed, thrashing under her leg.

"I get that too often for it to be offensive."

* * *

><p>Though no one asked for her help, Jayn spent a lot of time at the barns. It made the townspeople anxious, but whenever she visited, the chocobos were calmer and in a better mood.<p>

"Why don't they like you?" Chanton asked one night, over dinner. Jayn shrugged.

"They don't like SOLDIERs." Chanton sat up in his chair as Elsa brought out dinner.

"Well, I like you too very much." She said, placing extra helpings in front of Chanton. Jayn cracked a smile, and no cracks appeared. Elsa had offered to take them in until they left again, and Jayn eagerly took up the offer instead of remaining at the clinic.

"Come at me again!" Jayn yelled. Chanton felt sweat drip down his face, and cringed. How gross. In fact, he'd rarely sweat at all before now. And he didn't like it. Jayn always seemed to smell like sweat, so he guessed she didn't mind.

She was staring at him from across the field, her left sword draped casually over her shoulder. Chanton groaned, but started jogging over none the less. When he was close, he bent his knees and dashed. He'd never tried her feinting tip before, so he thought why not now? How cool would it be to actually make her block, for real that is.

She telegraphed him easily though, but with a smile.

"Nice." Chanton lowered his sword, still eager to fight, and jumped to her right side and flicked his blade, trying not to make it so obvious this time.

The sharp tip cut into her side with a gush of glowing blood. Chanton stumbled back and chocked on a gasp, and Jayn yelped and quickly covered the wound. She examined her hands and frowned at him.

"Are you okay!" He gasped.

"Yeah, fine." She lied, eager to ease his horror. "I just…how did you sneak up on me like that…"

She squinted her eyes, then exhaled in surprise. She closed each eye individualy, and her hand flew to cover her right eye- the one with the thick scar above it. She rubbed it, blinked hard, and squinted at the ground.

"Jayn?" Chanton asked.

"I can't see." She muttered.

Layle verified her fears by waving a little flashlight back and forth in front of her face.

"Yeah, the mako's been keeping it at bay, but it's just like the rash on your arm." Jayn looked at her arm when he spoke.

"Does that mean it's spreading?" Layle sat on the chair across from her.

"Yeah. I can't predict all the effects, but I don't want to know what'll happen when it spreads from your extremities. It could mess our your vital organs." Jayn tapped her head, frowning. "Oh, well I think your thick skull it preventing it from spreading to your brain for now."

"For now?" She gasped. He shrugged.

"I'd need to do more tests, but it looks like some SOLDIER thing. I wouldn't know what to do." Jayn leaned back, touching the rash lazily.

"I have to go." She said. Layle frowned, mimicking her annoyed expression.

"Go where?"

"I need to see my old mentor." She said. "I don't really know why." She added with a humorless laugh. "But maybe we can…I don't know, too many loose ends."

"Don't write a will just yet." Layle said, but she shook her head.

"Will you watch out for Chanton for me?"

"Elsa loves him."

"Then she will?" Layle shrugged.

"It's not like the kids is with ShinRa, though his parents were." Jayn's eyebrows rose high, and Layle continued. "He says his dad works for them."

"I knew it…" She whispered. Layle demanded to know what, but she wouldn't tell him.

She knew she'd seen him before…somewhere…sometime ago. He'd only been a toddler then, clutching the hand of his mother as they got in her way during a ShinRa lockdown. No, she wouldn't tell the town who hated ShinRa, that sweet Chanton was the son of their president.

She didn't want to say goodbye in person. She tried telling Elsa to do it for her, but the woman wouldn't have any of it.

Jayn woke him up, and stuffed her explanation into a few sentences, hoping for no questions. But he barraged her with them, until she felt like either crying or hitting him.

"I'm not leaving forever." She said, breaking him out of his angry tirade. "I'm sick, and need to check up on a few things before I get worse, okay? I'll be back." Before he could form words, Jayn unclipped one of her swords and put it in his lap. "Here. Practice while I'm gone."

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN~ in about...either next or the chapter after that, Jayn heads back to Midgar :D_**

**_Thanks for reading!  
><em>**


	5. Handsome

I shut my journal, and tied the string around the pages, sealing it shut again. I looked up finally, and met Genesis' lingering stare.

"Why did you write it in second person?" He asked. I looked back to the book in my hands.

"Oh, that? I…Well, Chanton helped me write some of it, so-" Genesis snickered. "What?" He shook his head and waved for me to continue. "So…it would have felt strange writing it like a diary-" I crossed my arms and waited for him to settle down, after a second laughing fit started up again.

"I…I'm sorry Hail- _Jayn_…it's just, he referred to you as heavy." He released a series of laughs. "I've never even been brave enough to say that!"

"Oh, that's what you're laughing about?" I shouted. "How old are you, really?" He wiped his eyes.

"And your story is missing some things. For instance, what happened between your desertion of ShinRa, to your daring rescue at the casino? And how is Kaito-chan alive?"

"I'm not sharing this to everyone I meet!" I snapped. He waited expectantly, until I sighed and gave him what he wanted. "I sulked and trained, and Kaito managed to crawl out of the rubble and nurse his wounds better. There, happy?"

"Oh, you said it in first-person, so yes, I'm happy."

Genesis didn't give me any direct answers. He still blamed his desertion on simply the Goddess. He was looking for her, he said. And her gift. It frustrated me beyond belief. He could be so moody, but he hadn't changed.

He still_ hadn't_, despite all that_ I_ had been through. I had changed so drastically, and I thought he would be different too.

But after hearing my story…after I spilled my heart out to him in order to get some new reaction…there was nothing.

_Why did you come?_ He asked. My disappointment was apparent.

I looked away.

_I don't know. _

But I planned to leave the next day. Whatever I was looking for in him…it still wasn't there.

* * *

><p>I walked around on my own for a while, avoiding the curious looking monsters that filled the underground. More than once, I heard a distant roar, coming from one of the furthest tunnels. I crossed my arms and stared in the direction. It sure sounded angry, and I'd had my fill of fights for the day.<p>

Genesis made dinner out of dumbapples. That didn't mean it lacked a variety though. There was pie, which tasted almost as good as what Zack's parents could make, and Genesis even had a bottle of vanilla wine. He claimed to have been saving it for me, so it was old. But old in wine years was a good thing.

I drank a decent amount, then capped the rest and tucked it under the bed for tomorrow, while he recited LOVELESS. I'd memorized it now, but recited it in my head along with him. His voice lingered on some of the lines, as if he wanted me to think about them, but I let the meaning slide past me. I would never appreciate the play like he had, and I would never worship it either.

He seemed to realize that, and stopped abruptly, in the middle of an act. Something he never did before. He dismissed himself to go wander through the caverns. When I asked where he would sleep, he replied that it was too early.

I was tired. I had fought him that day, and fighting a 1st Class SOLDIER, no matter how sick they were, would never be easy. _I_ felt sick too. My arm was throbbing in unison to the scar on my forehead. The rash must be spreading. I was usually good with sleeping in strange places, since I'd napped in mud puddles in Wutai and in war tents, but I tossed and turned all night. Maybe vanilla wine wasn't good old.

But I was woken by a sound that had been too loud to have come from any dream. I sat up slowly, letting my body adjust to consciousness before I tried any rapid movement. I could have been dreaming it…so I waited.

The sound came again- a faint roar. And if I listened closely, the sound of a sword clattering across stone. I leapt out of bed, still in my undershorts and t-shirt, grabbed my swords and ran barefoot down the tunnels.

I couldn't help but think, _what had Genesis gotten angry this time?_

Whatever it was, it was big.

I found him instantly, in the middle of the glossy cavern, along with the creature that had produced the echoing howl. The creature was hideous, and twice the size of any four-legged monster I'd ever fought before. It heard my loud approaching, and spun to face me. Genesis swung between its jaws, halfway trapped behind the creature's fangs.

"Genesis!" I screamed, and leapt from the high perch to the ground. The Bahamut growled at me, but his teeth only secured tighter over Genesis' arm. I saw his face tighten in pain, and that was enough to push me over the edge. I started running.

Finally, the creature tossed him to the side and faced me. It was a massive creature, with exposed muscles and no lips to cover its fangs. Bahamuts were among the most powerful monsters Hojo had created. It would be no short battle, but I tried.

It slashed at me with a wide paw, but I back flipped and dodged. When my feet landed, I launched myself forward and stabbed both swords into its chest. I met sturdy resistance, and it took another thrust just to cut under the chest plates. Finally, it cried out, more startled to feel pain, than from actual pain. It reared up, pulling me with it. I shoved my feet into its chest, and pulled my blades free. Its claws whistled past my head again, slicing into my ear and cheek.

I landed, and rolled back onto my feet. It continued growling now, shuffling its feet around the growing pool of blood from the wounds in its chest. It shook its massive head, dug its paws into the ground, and charged at me. I knew that I couldn't dodge, not in such a closed space, so I took the rush head on. I took one sword in both hands, and raced forward only one step before we clashed. My blade sunk into its body up to the hilt, and its claws raked down my side. I twisted my body enough to avoid the full-force of the slash, but I had to get close enough to deliver that final blow.

I loosed a powerful lightning bolt from the current materia in my sword, and the Bahamut screeched. Some of the electricity ricocheted off its body and onto me, and my jaw locked as the current raced through my body too. I let it take my sword as it backed away, stumbling over itself until it collapsed into a bloody, sparking heap.

I shook for a moment as static clawed over my body, before I could unclench my jaw and move. It had still taken longer than I would have liked for me to defeat it. Genesis wasn't making any sound anymore.

I dropped my other sword and hurried over to him. The rows of puncture wounds had ripped through his leather coat, and the SOLDIER belt he still wore hadn't even protected him. Useless armor. I pulled his arm over my shoulder, and grabbed him by his ripped belt. I half dragged, half carried him to the room in the tunnels. I'd never supported his full weight before, except for the times he had pinned me down during grappling, and I was surprised at how light he was. I may have weighed more.

But such things weren't helpful. My other observations, like the pale grey color of his thin blood, were more important. But I still didn't know how to help him.

I was able to throw him onto the bed, and heaved his legs over as well. I couldn't find scissors, so I used his sword to cut the rest of the leather away. That finally got a reaction out of him.

"Don't cut it…" He protested weakly, as i exposed his damp chest.

"Oh, shut up. I'll get you a new one." I had no idea where he bought that cloak. Maybe ShinRa made it and he would never get a new one again. At least he was conscious.

The wounds were deep and numerous. The Bahamut must have taken a few bites out of him before I sensed the battle. I found a green materia among his stash, and quickly got to work casting spells. After five minutes, there was hardly any improvement. It had never taken me so long to heal before. His body was fighting it. I had to stop before I exhausted myself.

"Still no good at materia?" He said weakly, and I glared down at him. "I named that Bahamut after you…" He stammered. "It reminded me of you when you get into your…your _moods_…" I shook my head, and peeled back his shirt again. The fabric made a tearing sound as it stuck to his skin, glued by blood. I closed it again, and returned the pressure.

"Shut up." I said firmly.

"I'm sorry, Hail." He breathed. His voice sounded beautiful. Like he was just tired. "It's not your fault...I don't heal as well as I used to." I pressed my hands harder into his chest, and he gave a short grunt of pain.

"What do you need?" I demanded, leaning over him to hear is weak voice. I wasn't about to accept it. Not like this.

"I need S Cells." He said, closing his eyes again. "But Sephiroth is gone. The Sephiroth gene don't exist anymore. For the better, I must assume..."

"S cells?" It sounded familiar. His copies had rambled about it before. "I…" I rubbed my hand over face, and saw mako on my fingers when I pulled away. My ear stung, and I touched it again and felt a tiny chink of missing cartilage. Nothing I couldn't live without. I looked at my mako-lined blood. My breathing hitched, but it gave me an insane idea. "Wait! I-…Hojo injected me with something. He was trying to make me like Sephiroth, and my blood's a lot like mako." Genesis shook his head.

"Impossible." I wound my hands into fists. I wished I could just punch him and make him better. Slap some sense into him. But I would probably knock him out.

"Can it hurt to try?" I asked.

"I'm dying." His words sent a shiver along the outside of him shoulders. How had he become so passive? "Do as you wish."

Genesis had a rather large collection of needles and syringes from his own attempts to heal himself. I found one on the desk that had not yet been used. It hovered above my arm, my hand flexing over and over again. Finally, I just shut my eyes and stabbed my hand down. I actually screamed. Like I'd pricked myself with a sword, not a tiny needle. I'd been expecting the sensation, but it brought back painful memories.

I pulled the plunger up, and the pain returned tenfold as I drew inches of mako-colored blood from my arm. When I finally removed the needle, I was sweating and shaking.

"Do as I wish? Well _fine_ then, I _wish_ for you to live, you sorry old man!"

I moved it over to Genesis' chest, and stabbed it downwards, in the general area of his heart. Genesis gasped, like he hadn't at all been expecting the shot, just like I hadn't been expecting to stab myself with the needle either. I jumped back, startled by the instant reaction. He leaned up slightly, curling his body around the needle, and met my eyes.

"Hail…that's..." Then, his glowing eyes rolled back in his head and he fell into the blankets.

"_Genesis_!" I leapt up to check on him and reeled over until I hit the floor. The impact of my skull on the stone floor sent a shockwave of pain through my spine, and I fainted too.

* * *

><p>Genesis woke in an hour or so, as if he'd just gotten the best sleep of his life. He rubbed his hand over his face and took a deep breath, before moving his fingers down his chest. There were scabs in place of open wounds, and only a dull throbbing when he applied pressure. The needle was still in place, and he quickly plucked it out of his muscles. He propped himself up on his elbows, and looked over the edge of the bed.<p>

Hail was strewn over the floor at an awkward angle, her face tight in apparent unease. Genesis moved his feet onto the floor and crouched beside her, putting his ear beside her lips to feel for breath. It came, but she was struggling.

He lifted her into his arms, surprised at his renewal of strength, since Hail was no ninety pound girl. _Heavy_, he remembered with a smile. He set her on the bed, and recognized the deep gashes in her side as wounds from a Bahamut. The entire left side of her face was smeared with drying blood, from a cut in her ear and cheek. The blood was red, but tinted with a greenish hue. Little streams of mako. Impossible.

He cut her shirt, locating the rest of the cuts, and carefully applied magic to the places that needed it most, such as her left side, where a rib was poking through her bruised skin.

He was sparing at first with his material use, since it had been months since he had been able to, but gradually relaxed and poured out his energy to heal her. But even after the red wounds closed up, and he washed the blood away, the scars remained. Some old, some only months old.

Genesis stared at the thick, glossy sword wound that stretched across her torso. It was such an even cut. Flawlessly delivered by her attacker. A skilled swordsman with a razorblade. He found a spare shirt, a sleeveless black turtleneck of a SOLDIER outfit, and pulled it over her head. It had been one of his, but it fit her almost perfectly.

He wondered if she would be upset with him when she woke. She'd always been reluctant to let him touch her- even if it was only to provide medical care. And now, as he couldn't help but notice, she had matured. She was not longer the fifteen year old novice that couldn't use material to save her life.

He watched her ease into a better sleep, then gently touched the puncture wound where she had stabbed herself so nobly with the needle. There was a wide bruise. Was she losing her ability to heal naturally as well? If what she said about Hojo using her in tests was true, then it was possible. He prayed to Gaia that she had gotten away.

She hadn't gotten away though. She had battled with Sephiroth, and that new scar signified an inevitable loss.

Genesis shut his eyes and opened them again, focused on her relaxed face. She really had grown into a fine woman. And through it all, never given up like he and Angeal had.

"If only you were a few years older." He said softly, smiling slightly at the thought.

* * *

><p>I woke, disoriented and angry. Who was I angry at?<p>

I sat up, and felt the dizziness return. A hand flew to my head, and I gasped sharply. The arm that I'd stabbed was covered in a dark green bruise. It hurt to even flex.

"Good morning, chocobo-head." Genesis said. I saw him, and actually released a startled gasp. He was leaning against the doorway, arms crossed over a fresh new shirt. But it wasn't just his clean clothing, he himself looked better. The color, however pale, had returned to his face, and his hair was rich with false highlights and lightness. I hardly recognized him. Well, I did. It was a younger version of Genesis. The man that had trained me. Not the weak, gray-haired ex-SOLDIER that I had been reciting poetry with for the last month.

He smiled, and not a single misplaced wrinkle creased his face.

He was handsome.

"Are you okay?" I asked. He laughed, and the clear sound took me back to fonder memories.

"Yes, Jayn. I am quite well again." He walked over to me, spinning a tray of purple fruit on his hand. "Are _you_?" I nodded uncertainly, and touched my chest. I quickly realized that I was wearing something new. He let out a low chuckle and approached me. "I hope you don't mind. You were more injured than you acted." I shrugged, though I was undoubtedly embarrassed.

I was a grown adult now, and he'd dressed me like I was an incapable child.

"I owe my life to you." He said, pulling me from my thoughts. "You and your magic blood. It seems I had the Gift of the Goddess right in front of me this whole time." He laughed a little stronger. "I had it chasing me, and I would run away because I wanted to go look for the very thing yelling at me to stay."

* * *

><p>Genesis and I walked back into the spacious cavern, and through the shallow water and past the mako fountains.<p>

"It's beautiful." I whispered. He nodded.

"We are very close to the Lifestream here." I closed my eyes, and listened.

"Do you like flying?" I asked, absent-mindedly. Genesis crossed his arms.

"It does not bring me so much pleasure as it did to Angeal. It is quicker though, but painful. Still, I am grateful that at least one mutation has advantages."

"I would never want to fly." I said. "It's too...I bet Zack would want to. It seems like his kind of thing."

"Why can't it be yours?" Genesis continued.

"Because, flying...it's too much like a thing an angel would do. But Zack's a hero. I'm not like that."

"And I am?" He chuckled. I crossed my arms.

"At least you're handsome enough to pass as one." Genesis rolled his eyes, and walked in front of me.

"Jayn, you are very handsome." I released a humorless laugh.

"Oh gee thanks." I felt his hand on my shoulder, and his thumb traced over the end of my scar. I opened my eyes to see him. He was even closer than i had thought. He looked at the scar again.

"You are strong, and that is beautiful." I looked away. "And you yourself are beautiful." He touched my chin, and smiled wide. "Now stop brooding, my beautiful, blue-haired wonder!"

"It's hard not to brood when I hear all these voices. Can you hear that?" I asked. He examined me. "I swear I can hear whispers." I opened my eyes and the voices were gone. But Genesis was still looking at me. "I need to leave. Chanton's waiting for me." I looked back at him, and he smiled and broke the eye contact, staring down the quiet tunnels.

"I can't convince you to stay?" I frowned. "After all, you're the only thing keeping me alive." I smiled.

"Got any more vanilla wine?" He smirked and shook his head. I closed my eyes tightly. "I can come back in a month or two." He paused, but eventually nodded.

"That would be very kind of you."

* * *

><p>Cloud was happy to see me after the few days I'd spent in the underground caverns of Banora. He had been happily grazing for all that time, and already looked plumper. I pat his feathers and he stood high on his legs and flapped his flightless wings.<p>

I tried not to look back, but I felt liked someone was watching me. As Cloud galloped into the fields, I looked over my shoulder. It was evening, and the glow coming from below the ground lit up the air with pulses of light. I wanted to find a figure outline against the specs of trailing light, but I'm sure I was making it up.

I faced forward and let Cloud carry me towards Saltee.

* * *

><p>Genesis watched her go, from high in the air, where the light could not reach him. He flapped his wing every now and then to stay aloft. He glanced at the strange appendage, and watched as the tips of the feathers turned grey.<p>

_If this is the Goddess' will…then my time has come. _

_Hail Darvey…Goodbye, and thank you._

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN~ My Zelda fic is taking priority, but I plan to put chapters out at least once a month for this one :)**_

_**By the way, I started a Tumblr! The title is "Finally" and my username is kibasgirltsumi. I'm thinking of uploading some concept art of Hail/Jayn, if that would be something you guys would like to see. Let me know**_

_**Thanks!**_


	6. Cloudy

I wasn't used to other people sleeping next to me. When I woke up and felt something against my back, I almost impulsively stabbed it. But I took the time, this time, to rationalize. I relaxed, sinking back into my bedroll.

I'd been gone for a week, and Chanton became a _cuddler_.

I had to scold him when I got back to Saltee, because he'd been lazy and didn't train. He didn't know how to train though. He was too young. I decided I would spend more time teaching him how to train by himself.

Because, according to Layle, I wasn't going to live forever anymore.

Chanton needed to be able to defend himself on his own. He _had_ to be able to.

We made a circle around Cosmo Canyon, and entered the ancient village as the sun went down. It was the perfect time of day too; the rocks glowed red and the whole place looked like it was on fire. I walked carefully at first, looking for any signs of a buggy or chopper marked with ShinRa's red triangle, but people informed me that the Company had not been there in years. I put Cloud in the stable and took Chanton up the mountain. I was surprised that Nanaki hadn't already greeted me. He was usually the first to notice me.

Chanton hated the stairwells in the shafts of the tunnels. I had him go in first, promising to catch him if he suddenly fell. Whenever his left arm leaded, reaching for the next rope ring, his entire body shook nervously. We reached the café level, and I bought Chanton a cosmo smoothie. I inquired to the bartender about the red coyote's whereabouts, but the man shook his head sadly.

"Poor thing was taken by ShinRa last time they showed up. A couple a guys in fancy black suits." He shook his head disapprovingly, and went back to polishing the granite slab. I sat heavily in the stool beside Chanton, who was enjoying himself now.

"Let's go." I said. He frowned at me.

"But I'm not done…!" I left the gil on the bar and led Chanton back downstairs. I stared at the bon fire in the middle of town for a few seconds as we passed it. Nanaki should have been sitting in front of it, his paws dipped lazily into the heat, and his tail flaming.

ShinRa was taking everything away from me. I couldn't stand it.

But Chanton was tired. I had him do fifty squats in our room at the inn, then let him sleep. As I laid back down, I felt something wrinkle against the inside of my shirt. I picked it out, and saw that it was a narrow slip of paper. Recognizing what it was, I sat up and gently unraveled it.

I'd read Kunsel's message dozens of times. It had kept me going right after I first left ShinRa, and when things were very hard. It was the possibility that I would see him again.

The message didn't make proper sense. It told me to meet him somewhere, followed by a rapidly approaching date. Was it a random time, or did it have a specific purpose?

I rolled over to blow out my lantern, and saw that Chanton had rolled to face me. He was already asleep, and his beautiful features were relaxed. His mouth hung slightly open, and he reminded me of a certain Infantryman who I had once tried to protect.

I looked down at the paper in my hands again.

ShinRa had stopped looking for me. They had stopped searching for me after I disappeared in Wutai for a year. The company was still unwelcome there, and the still proud people did not cooperate well. That didn't mean my face had stopped circulating through the papers, and with my scar and blue hair, I had a pretty distinct appearance. Sure, I could die my hair and change its cut, but the scar was too thick for any concealers. And my eyes burned out contacts. As far as I knew, I was the only female ex-SOLDIER alive. There was some chance that if I went to Midgar, I would be caught. SOLDIERs and Turks were everywhere.

So, why didn't I just stay here with Chanton? He needed me, and it was a good feeling. I'd hated it at first, and still did, but it was a good feeling. When I was needed by Cloud, it felt good too. But the difference was that Cloud was dead, and Chanton was very much alive.

I crushed the paper in my hand and rubbed the back of my wrist into my eyes.

But Kunsel could be too. I couldn't help but imagine how great life could be, if I could somehow run away with him. Be with Chanton and Kunsel, far away from ShinRa, riding chocobos and drinking vanilla wine. The dream was so tempting.

I rubbed the aching scar on my face, and tested my blind eye. Yes, still blind.

My life was so short…why didn't I try to live it to its fullest?

I spend the next week training Chanton. He complained about the hot sun, but despite his whining, he was improving. He could hold a sword in his weak left arm for a short period of time, and he was very quick on his feet, making him anything but an easy target.

"I wish you didn't look so cute." I said, as we sat in the shade, recovering from a long run around the mountain.

"Why?" I shrugged.

"It makes people want to steal you." I muttered, and he laughed weakly.

"Whatever. I'm getting so good with a sword now, let them come."

"Don't get cocky." He looked away, but nodded.

"…Fine."

Nanaki's grandpa came to see me the day I was planning to leave.

"We do not read the popular news here, but I have heard travelers talking. You left the company?" He asked. I nodded, deciding against giving an explanation. "They have taken Nanaki." I bowed my head.

"I know." I said weakly.

"Is there…nothing you can do?" He asked. I could hear the desperation lining his voice. I looked past him. Chanton was walking Cloud over to us.

"You read the papers. I left the company, and I'm not ever going back."

* * *

><p>On our way back to Saltee, we passed through a dry part of the mountains, which would flatten out before turning into grass plains. That place used to be grassy too, but Midgar was close now, and the power company had drained this part of the land of its life energy, and now it was as dead as the lively city. As we crossed the only buggy road I'd seen, a speeding pickup truck almost ran us down. Cloud warked in fright, and flapped his wings, lifting us inches of the ground as he stumbled back.<p>

"Hey watch it!" I shouted, noticing a pair of hitchhikers seated in the flatbed. I glared at them for a while, before moving Cloud on. That road would lead to Midgar, and I didn't want to be anywhere near it.

It started raining on our way back to Saltee. Chanton and I took a detour, hiding out under a rock face. Luckily our shelter was slanted outwards so the water didn't drip inside, but it was still cold and muddy. Cloud was too large to fit entirely inside, so he settled with the half front of his body, and his tail and legs were soaked.

I leaned my head back against the wall, and when I did, a stabbing pain ripped through my skull. I screamed, and grabbed my head. The pain faded, and I examined the smooth granite behind me to see if there was a jutting rock or something that I might have hurt myself on. It felt as if I'd been shot.

I shook my head, moving my hands away. I took out a bottle of corel wine from my bag and uncapped it.

"Are you okay, miss alcoholic?" Chanton asked sweetly. I sneered at him, and took a sip. The drink burned in my throat, but I managed to down it and waited for its pleasant aftereffects. I closed my eyes, and when I did, I heard the voices.

The dozens I couldn't make out became background noise, as a single voice rang out in my mind, as clearly as if the person had spoken those words right into my ear.

_She said that the sky frightened her…_

_Those wings…I want them too. _

_If you see Aerith, say hi for me_

The empty bottle slid from my weak grasp and cracked on the hard floor. Chanton bolted upright, lifting his head off of my shoulder and blinking around in the dark. He saw me sprint outside into the rain, and wildly look around the flooded terrain. It was empty. No one was…there wasn't…it…

"Zack?" I was like I didn't want to be heard. Like I was looking for something that I didn't really want to find. My voice didn't go far, soaked up by the storm. I cleared my throat and tried again. "_Zack!_" I slipped on a wet rock and fell hard onto my side. My head hit the ground and wild images of blood and feathers raced through my mind.

_Hey…Would you say I became a hero?_

I screamed, and the rain pummeled down on me like the bullets that had killed him.

Eventually I woke up. Chanton had dragged me halfway back under the rocks, and tossed a blanket over my shoulders. I pretended to be asleep a little longer so I could figure out what I was going to say to him. I never did.

"You drank too much." Chanton said. He sat behind me as Cloud walked through the tall grass of the fields of Saltee.

"No, that wasn't it." I replied.

"You totally had an episode." Chanton decided. I pinched his thigh, and the boy leaned back and kicked me between the shoulders. Layle came to meet us as we reentered town.

"You just can't stay away, can you?" He said, rolling his eyes. Others glared at him for his rudeness. Surprisingly, many of them had forgiven me, or whatever you would call it since I hadn't done anything wrong. I think it was Chanton's doing. It was hard to hate anyone when such a cute little boy was standing next to them.

"I have to go back to Midgar." I said. Chanton looked at me in disbelief. This was the first time he was hearing it as well. "Elsa, will you watch Chanton?" The woman nodded, her throat tight, filled with emotion.

"What! Jayn-" Chanton yelled, punching me in the back to get my attention. I hushed him with a look, then knelt in front of him after we dismounted the chocobo.

"I don't know what I felt last night. But at the same time, I do. And…I know it doesn't make sense, but I need to go see someone. I need to tell them something."

"You don't make any sense!" He shouted at me. "Jayn, ShinRa's there." He said, his voice shivering with sobs. "I didn't believe you at first when you said you were a SOLDIER, but I know you are. And they don't let their SOLDIERs just leave. They'll _get_ you." I pat his shoulder and smiled reassuringly.

"I won't let them." He lunged forward, grabbing me with his arms. I lost my balance and fell backwards.

"Promise." He said into my shoulder. I hesitated, then wrapped my own arms around the boy's back. Then my grip on him tightened, and I pulled Chanton closer, until I felt the top of his head touch my chin and his shoulders sink under my arms. I wished I could have remained there. Nothing would have hurt him- nothing would have_ dared_ to. He would be safe in the embrace of my arms forever.

But I would never be at peace, if that was even what I wanted. I had to finish…whatever it was that kept calling back to me. Something was preventing me from settling down, and I could ignore it no longer.

"I'll come back for you." I said, my face buried in his soft hair. "I promise."

I gave Chanton my right sword, permanently. He promised to train this time, and I truly felt that he would.

They let me borrow one of their rental chocobos, and I rode back all through the night. I reached the buggy path, and followed it until the rocks parted and revealed the massive, ugly city of Midgar. I could see that the rotting pizza was finished now, forming a full circle.

I clicked my heels against the bird's side, and he reluctantly moved forward, his toes crunching over the weeds and tendrils of dead grass and dead dirt.

As the path became to get steeper, and incline downwards towards the desolate valley that surrounded Midgar like a crater, I slowed my chocobo and examined the landscape. My expert eyes caught a glint of metal, and I leapt off my steed and ran to a clearing overlooking the barren wasteland before Midgar. There were puddles of pink water, and swords everywhere. Of course there were swords. I wouldn't have noticed much else from so far away, but I had memorized the very way light played off the shape of their tempered metal.

There were dozens of broken swords and guns, _mostly guns_, scattered in the mud. Cheap, easy weapons that expendable Infantrymen were given. I felt a familiar dislike for the weapons, and crushed them under my heel when I could. Especially if they were the weapons that took my friend's life. I kicked the blades over, but none were near large enough to have belonged to Zack.

An especially wide collection of crimson water had formed right at the edge of the cliff. I closed my eyes and listened, but no voice came.

I clenched my fists.

What was I doing? I'd run off without even thinking.

Zack had died in Nibelhiem, years ago! All of this was in my head! Hojo had gotten to me and this was the aftereffects of all those years of mako poisoning and whatever other drugs Hojo could pump me with.

So… why was there this fresh battle sight with his name written all over it?

I ground my fist into my eyes.

Why had I heard his voice? Saying exactly what his dying words would have been…

I looked at the broken swords and blood, then the clearing sky overhead. As I lifted my face, I felt tears tip over the sides of my lashes. I opened my eyes and looked into the glaring sun that was already drying the rest of the blood and rain.

"Of course you became a hero, you idiot…"

* * *

><p>I don't know how I heard Zack, but it bothered me that I hadn't heard Cloud. The painful truth was that he probably <em>had<em> just died in Nibelhiem. His death hurt me even more than Zack's.

I entered Midgar, keeping my hood over my head, and my eyes down. I sold the chocobo to a stable, planning on buying him back when I left again in a few days. I went straight to a beauty shop in the slums where they dyed my hair brown.

"It's okay, sweetie, we've all tried wild hair colors before and sometimes they just don't work out." She told me. I just smiled, coughed up the gil and went on my way.

The city, even above the plates, was always dark. The clouds overhead had thickened since my absence, and the smog made me cough. I reached into my bag for a drink, but all I had left was a few drops of corel wine. I drained it, then tossed the empty bottle into a trash heap down an alley.

My feet carried me right to Goblin's Bar, resting in the shadow of the company's main building. I checked the date on Kunsel's piece of paper, shrugged, and walked inside.

The bar hadn't changed much in the past few years. A new, granite countertop to replace the wooden, alcohol-stained old one, but the same, dim lights hung from the ceiling. I liked that about this bar. It was hard to distinguish faces. I looked around, praying I hadn't forgotten what Kunsel looked like. No one seemed to fit the description of a lean young man with mako eyes. I took a seat on the bar and ordered some canned wine.

A man sat beside me, and rested his elbow on the bar. I paused, my hair on end. I looked to him without a second thought, and instantly dropped my eyes again. I wanted to smile, but kept that to myself.

"So, come here often?" A smooth voice asked. I took a hearty sip, and lowered the glass of wine from my lips. I followed the man's elbow to a cuffed sleeve, and then back to the collar of his suit, and loose tie. I rolled my eyes. Yes, I was right in guessing who that certain man was.

"Not recently." I replied carefully. "But I heard the company's good here."

"Yeah, I see that's true. Wasn't expecting find someone quite like you around here, but surprise surprise."

"Well, is this little chance meeting of our going to stay private?" I asked. He smiled.

"Sure, why not?"

A tall, dark man in a suit joined him. I recognized him by his heavy footsteps, so I didn't even need to look over my shoulder. Damn it, again. I'd been in Midgar for ten minutes, and already was found out. I took another generous gulp of my drink, calming my nerves.

I'd wanted this, though. Kunsel needed to see where I was anyways. So, let them come. And come they did. Boy, Chanton would have been very, very mad at me.

Dozens of SOLDIERs flooded the bar, and ordered all civilians outside. I tipped back the glass in my hand, until it was drained.

"It's your own fault, Hail." Reno whispered, his face tight. He looked angry, even. "We let you get away, so why in Gaia's name did you come back…?" I stared at my reflection in the glass, convoluted and stretched. The glared from my eyes tinged the whole cup blue.

I gripped it tightly, then turned and threw it. A frightened SOLDIER fired his gun, and missed, shooting the bottles lined behind the counter. Colorful spouts of alcohol shot out across the wooden counter and flooded the floor. I heaved the table in front of me, and flipped it. It rammed into the line of SOLDIERs, who were promptly pinned against the wall. I kicked it once more for good measure, and ducked under Rude's powerful haymaker punch.

"I've missed you too, boys!" I cried, as Reno crouched, jumping slightly in anticipation. Rude took a step back to stand beside his partner. My smile sagged a bit. "I didn't come back to cause trouble." That was all I could say before the SOLDIERs finally wriggled out from behind the overturned table and hurried back into formation. But they had seemed to have forgotten that I had been chased out the back of Goblin's Bar before.

I slid over the wet counter just as their captain gave the cue to open fire. Then I kicked open the door to the store room, and then through the back door.

It was a narrow alleyway. Rude was, surprisingly, quickest to try and follow, but he was forced to halt after half a step into the back alley. His broad shoulders were much too wide to slink down the path after me, and it didn't help that Reno, who maybe _was_ skinny enough to make it through, was kicking the back of Rude's thighs to make him move further, and only succeeded in trapping his partner even more. The confused SOLDIERs and Turks didn't reorganize until Rude was finally free, and by then, I was long gone.

* * *

><p>The slums had gotten worse. I'd rushed up to the top of the plates, so I hadn't really gotten the chance to look around below. It was more humid, like acid air, than I remembered, though it could also just have been because I'd been in the open for so long.<p>

I walked along, hunched over to keep my eyes from meeting anyone else's. Because, as I walked closely by crowds, I could hear them badmouthing ShinRa. It was worse than Saltee.

I think I walked in a full circle around the main support beam before I stopped. It must have been the night by then, though it was impossible to tell from below the plates. The one time I tried looking up, something dripped into my eye and stung.

I hadn't gotten my fill of drinks at the last bar, so I looked for a new one. The slums seemed to have more, but most were for socializing, and I wanted a quiet little place to gather my thoughts, and make a plan or something... And wait. No more excitement for tonight.

Eventually I did find one along the main road. A small, cozy little bar with a cozy little name. I walked up the creaky steps and smiled at the sound underfoot.

The bar was small, with an oak bar and a pinball machine in the corner. The dim lights were nice on my tired eyes. No one else was inside at the moment, except for one man hunched over at the bar, and the bartender who was leaning over her side to chat with him. I took it as a good omen. I took a seat two stools away from him, and waved the bartender down. She was a cute-…very, well-endowed woman, with a crop shirt that accentuated that very obvious fact. She offered me a smile and an empty glass.

"What can I fill this with?" She asked happily. I noticed her eyes were a nice color or mahogany…a mix between red and brown. They looked familiar somehow, but I felt like if I'd seen the girl before, I would have recognized her right away.

I looked for a menu, but this small bar seemed to be a local hotspot, and for locals only. Everyone should have already known what to order, so menus were unnecessary. Or they were just too cheap to buy them.

"Uh, corel wine, I guess." I said with a defeated sigh. I still didn't like the taste of the heavy drink, but at least it kept me warm.

"We're out right now." The girl informed me, with a sad smile. I held back my sigh for now. "Just ran dry a few hours ago after the rush. Can I get you something else? How about a nice shot of vanilla wine? Fresh in this-" I must have looked up so suddenly that it startled her into cutting herself off. "You want that?" I nodded, then held up two fingers. She laughed. "Coming right up then." And she walked off to the back room.

I folded my arms over the bar and rested my head on top of them they like were a pillow. What a nice pillow it was too. But I could have a better one. I had enough gil to rent a room at the inn, even. Maybe I would.

The man beside me set down his heavy glass, and sent a chime through the wood to my ear. I cracked open an eye, and saw him staring into the empty cup, twirling the last few drops of amber liquid along the botom.

"Rough night?" I asked casually. He didn't respond, but he lifted his head as if my question had bothered him. He brushed a gloved hand through his hair, and yellow spiked sprung up after his fingers passed. He caught me staring, and he boldly looked back at me, and out mako eyes met. His widened, just as mine did. Neither of us had been expecting to see the glowing irises. My eyes darted back to his stunning hair though. Just like a baby chocobo's…

"Cloud?" I asked. The name left my lips at a whisper, since it had been so long since I'd spoken it aloud. The young man frowned in recognition. I slowly lifted my head back off of my arms, and he slid off his stool to stand. "Cloud." I repeated, and stood to follow him. He swiftly turned his back to me and walked away. That dismissive gesture must have deterred a great many people before. Because strapped to his back, was Zack's buster sword. It was dulled from rigorous use, and the scratches along its blade made me cringe.

Many potential enemies must have walked away after seeing such an impressive, well-used blade. But instead, I bolted after him.

"Cloud!" I shouted this time, and my voice echoed in the heavy air of the slums. "Cloud, _wait_!" Halfway down the steps of the bar, the blond whipped around and drew Zack's sword. I froze in my tracks, good thing I did, as he aimed the tip at my neck.

"You, stay away from me." He finally said. It was a gruff, firm command. His voice had no trace of kindness. All the innocence that his childlike voice once held was gone. I backed away, though I had no intention of leaving.

"Cloud! I-…" I tried to think of what could have been causing his attitude, but it was difficult to do with a sword at my throat. So I just thought of everything, and blurted them out as they came to me. "It's me, Jayn- uh, _Hail_. Hail Darvey. I dyed my hair brown, and…oh!" All the chaos in Nibelhiem had happened to us at the same time. I'd never seen him after that, so of course he thought I was still working for ShinRa! "I'm not with ShinRa anymore!" I said. "I deserted too. I-I thought you had been killed that night." I lowered my arms, but the young man still had the blade raised aggressively. My eyes hardened at him, searching for an explanation. In fact, now that he was in better lighting, not to say that the street lamps in the slums were very good at all, I could see what he was wearing. The uniform of a 1st Class SOLDIER. No. It was impossible. Yes, there were slight adjustments, like the screws in the shoulder guard, bust still And his eyes… "Are_ you_ with ShinRa?" I dared to ask.

"Don't say another word." He snapped. His voice was low. Dangerous. "I don't know who you are, but I want you gone." He stepped to the side to allow me to pass.

He didn't know who I…

"…Cloud, what-"

"_Now_." He growled. I just frowned at him.

"What?" He took a deep breath and held it. That was all the response I got. I shook my head. "Cloud Strife. You are not doing this to me. You-" I grabbed the railing for support, as I suddenly felt weak, and stared at him. "Is it really you! Gaia, of course it is- look at that hair! I mean-…" I shook my head again, and started walking towards him. He aimed the sword at me again, and I stopped. He was even holding the sword in one hand. How was he doing that? It weighed a ton! "Stop pointing Zack's sword at me!" I yelled. His eyes dilated, and he wavered for a moment. "Does that mean he's dead then?" I demanded, suddenly furious. "If you have his sword?" Cloud stared at me with a blank, stoic expression. Who was this man? "Tell me!"

"What the hell's goin' on out here?" A booming voice demanded. I looked over my shoulder as a stocky man joined me on the porch from inside the bar. He took one look and me and rolled his eyes. "Yo, Cloud! You havin' lady troubles again?"

"She won't leave." Cloud muttered.

"The hell I won't!" I shouted back. "Not until you explain to me what in Gaia's name is going on!"

"Ah, screw it." The man behind me stooped over, intent on slinging me over his shoulder, but I saw it as if it were in slow-motion. I sidestepped, jumping over the railing and onto the ground in front of the porch. Cloud followed me with the buster sword all the way. I just wanted to yell at him to put it down. Did he realize how much it hurt to have that sword in a position to attack me? It was Zack's, and Angeal's before that. Men who I…

"She's in SOLDIER." Cloud said.

"What?" I gasped. His glowing eyes narrowed.

"Her reflexes are too good." Cloud said. The man on the porch nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, but- whoa! You sayin' they let chicks in SOLDIER?" He demanded.

"I'm not in SOLDIER anymore!" I protested, nervously looking around at the few later-night wanderers who had straggled in front of the bar. But Cloud and the dark-skinned man ignored me and continued debating.

"Apparently." Cloud responded. The man cussed loudly.

"She followed us from the reactor then…Cloud-" The reactor? One of the reactors at ShinRa? What were they talking about?

"I know." Cloud interrupted him, and locked his eyes on me. He took the sword in both hands and lifted it behind himself, while deepening his stance. I lifted my hands defensively.

"Hey, wait!"

I had enough time to draw my sword before we clashed. My body shook under the weight of the sword, and the power that was behind it. I had to take a step back to not fall over. I took more steps after that as well. I wanted distance between myself, and the sword.

"Stop it!" I shouted. Cloud dashed in again, and I ducked under a whistling swing. But as he turned around, he picked up his knee, and kicked me in the chest. I went stumbling backwards, winded and aching all over. "St-…" I couldn't find my voice. Cloud had kicked it halfway across Midgar. But it wasn't just my bruised stomach that hurt. What was happening? Was this really Cloud?

The scar on my head ached, and my eyes spun. I dug my hand into the ashen dirt and grabbed my sword weakly.

"Zack!" I cried.

"Stop!" The bartender had raced out onto the deck after hearing all the ruckus, and she had appeared just in time to hear me yell a certain name. She stared at me with those beautiful cherry-colored eyes, then glared at Cloud. "Cloud, stop it. She's who she says she is."

The blond waited a few more moments, before slinging the sword over his back and crossing his arms. The girl hurried over to me, but I didn't want her help. I sat up, falling heavily onto my backside. I stabbed my sword into the ground and glared at Cloud as my head throbbed.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"No." I snapped. "I'm not." She followed my glare, and looked back to me with a sigh.

"Did you yell Zack's name?" She asked. I just looked at her. "Cloud's…" She glanced back again, nervously. "We can talk later. Why don't you come inside, your wine is waiting."

I shrugged, and pulled my sword out of the dirt and sheathed it.

"It better be."

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN~ I love Hail, but this isn't my most popular story so updates will come slowly. But I'm going for once or twice a month. **_

_**Thanks!**_


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